Heeeeeeeee’s baaaaaaaack!
Tom Brady announced Sunday night that he’s returning to Tampa Bay for his 23rd season of professional football.
Thus concludes the GOAT QB’s WROAT – Worst Retirement of All Time.
Brady never actually said the word retirement when he declared that he could not make the “competitive commitment anymore” to the game of football and fueled speculation regarding his return endlessly in the – gasp! – nearly six weeks that he was supposedly out of the NFL and spending time with his family.
Now that farce is over and two things are abundantly clear.
First, fans and haters alike have to agree, Brady’s return is good for the NFL. Having the best to ever play the game back on the field to pursue another Super Bowl run as he turns 45 will be something to see.
Whether you’re part of the massive, cult-like fan base that mindlessly approves of everything and anything that Brady does or the growing minority across the land that roots against him, having Brady on the field in 2022 is good for the business off football. Much like the early days of Howard Stern’s audience we all fall into one of two passionate categories: Brady fans or Brady haters. But we’re all Brady watchers.
And therein lies the rub of Brady’s too-short-to-be-taken-seriously retirement that felt like some sort of mix of WWE, professional boxing and the Kardashians. It smelled funny from its leaked beginnings right through its social media manifesto and, now, flat out stinks.
Whether he cares or not, whether his truly fanatic fans will admit it or not, Brady’s actions the last few months and maybe the last few years have tarnished his brand just a little bit.
Some Patriots fans didn’t like the infamous Coming or Going? photo in the tunnel of Gillette Stadium that turned out to be nothing more than a bought-and-paid-for way to jerk them around as part of a Hulu Super Bowl commercial.
More recently, many New England fans felt slighted with nary a Patriots mention in Brady’s “retirement” posts on social media last month.
Now all those fans from New England Tampa alike who purchased commemorative coins, balls, magazines and even TB12 branded retirement t-shirts have what? Fraudulent mementos? Unwarranted collectors’ items tantamount to those Patriots 19-0 t-shirts from the shoulda-been season of 2007?
How about the sucker who spent half a million dollars for the ball from Brady’s “final” touchdown pass of his career?
Oops. Sorry, I guess.
Even the TB12 brand itself, built on Brady’s ageless success and fortunate health into his third decade of NFL action, has something to lose in this haphazard retirement-turned-comeback.
Sure Brady was great last season – leading the NFL in attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns – and probably could have taken home his fourth MVP award. But what if – and I very much realize neither he nor his followers believe this is even possible – Brady were to get hurt this fall? It happens to quarterbacks. It’s more likely to happen to players as they age, even if they drink a lot of water and stretch more than most.
Make no mistake it’s going to be fun to watch Brady suit up for the Bucs – assuming that’s where he plays, despite plenty of rumors that he might have his sights set elsewhere – once again and watch him try to clinically dissect opposing defenses yet again.
It’s going to be fun to root for – or against! – him yet again.
But we can’t deny the fact that there is risk to his brand and to some degree his legacy. He’s chipped away at his fan base in recent years, losing a few Foxborough Faithful along the way to Tampa Bay. May have even lost a few more – both in New England and Florida, maybe even across the football world – through this clunky, botched retirement.
Brady always said he’d play until he sucked, and he certainly did not suck last season.
Among his many nicknames, Brady is the Comeback Kid. Though he’s far from a kid at this point, comeback is exactly what he did after a hideous attempt to walk away from the game.
If he didn’t return, maybe he’d always regret it.
Now that he’s announced his return, well there’s a chance that he may regret that, too.
We all shall see.
And whether we want to admit it or not -- whether we even like Brady or not at this point -- we will all be watching very, very closely.
