On Sunday morning, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that Tom Brady is expected to retire at the end of the season — for real this time.
On Monday, Brady gave perhaps his strongest indication yet that retirement is at the forefront of his mind.
On the latest episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast, Brady spoke about the emotions he’s experiencing this season, and how he’s feeling more melancholy about the grind of the NFL schedule.
“I'm feeling more than things in the past for some reason,” he said. “You know, I'm just really feeling intensely my emotions. And I feel like I always have that, but I think when you get close to the end … I don't know exactly where I'm at with that and there's no decision to be made. It's not like I have 10 years left. I definitely don't have that. So all these, I just am never gonna take for granted, you know?”
Brady, who led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season, picked up right where he left off in Tampa Bay’s 19-3 win over the Cowboys Sunday night. The seven-time Super Bowl champ finished 18-of-27 for 212 yards and a touchdown, including a pretty 48-yard pass to his newest target, Julio Jones.
But Brady’s skillset has never been in question, even at 45 years old. The doubts are about his mindset, especially in the aftermath of his 11-day absence from Buccaneers training camp. Rapoport says Brady was vacationing with his family in the Bahamas, confirming an earlier report.
It’s also been reported that Brady and Gisele Bundchen are experiencing marital strife over his decision to keep playing. Brady bemoaned to Jim Gray about all of the holidays and engagements he’s missed over the last 23 years.
"I haven't had a Christmas in 23 years and I haven't had a Thanksgiving in 23 years,” he said. “I haven't celebrated birthdays with people that I care about that are, you know, born from August to late January. And you know, I'm not able to be at funerals and I'm not able to be at weddings.
“I think there comes a point in your life where you say, 'You know what? I had my fill and it's enough and time to go on, to move into other parts of life.' I push myself to the max and I got everything I could out of my ability.”
Brady seemingly arrived at that point in January, only to reverse course 40 days later. The fact is, he still loves football.
“For me, the ability to play and love what I'm doing in year 23 with a new group of teammates and a really committed team -- it's really fun for me,” he said. “I still enjoy [it], I feel it out there, I feel the joy, I feel the happiness, I feel the camaraderie.”
But the personal costs for Brady's on-field joy may be increasingly difficult to withstand. At least, that’s what he keeps implying.
