It isn’t hard to figure out how ESPN got ahead of itself in prematurely reporting Tom Brady’s retirement. It’s apparent the greatest of all-time is ready to call it quits, given his company, TB12, immediately commended its founder with a celebratory tweet Saturday once the story broke. Multiple NFL Insiders, including Ian Rapoport, say Brady is still planning to step away from the gridiron after 22 incredible seasons.
He just wanted to make the announcement through his own channels.
But Brady wasn’t afforded that opportunity when Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington came out with their report, which they attributed to “sources.” Apparently, those sources weren’t Brady or his father. Brady’s agent, Don Yee, issued a clarifying statement saying his client is still considering his future, while Tom Sr. called the story “conjecture.” But some people in Brady’s camp seemingly got ahead of themselves. Schefter and Darlington are plugged in. They don’t publish hearsay, contrary to what Tom Sr. may think.
Whenever Schefter reports something, it’s rightfully taken as gospel, outside of when he claimed the Browns were preparing to interview Condoleezza Rice for their head coaching vacancy. That’s one of the reasons it so surprising to see the post-publication denials from Team TB12. Schefter seldom screws up.
Of course, reporters aren’t usually concerned with abiding by their subjects’ timelines. But Schefter is a bit of a different case. He seems to almost be in coordination with teams and player agents. The cycle is like clockwork: Schefter breaks his story, and then the press release follows. There was an apparent break down in process here.
It’s also worth mentioning Schefter and Darlngton’s story didn’t contain an on-the-record denial from Yee or anybody affiliated with Brady. It’s strange they would publish a story of this magnitude without going directly to the source for confirmation.
ESPN is also in a unique position with Brady, because they’re in business with each other. In addition to co-producing his ESPN+ series, “Man in the Arena,” Brady’s team is also co-producing a “30-for-30” special on the Tuck Rule Game.
The WorldWide Leader is not in the dark here. Seth Wickersham, perhaps the consummate Brady-Belichick insider, published a new retrospective on Brady’s career Saturday night. ESPN was ready for the announcement.
It just appeared to get to the timing wrong.
