Tom Brady continues to suggest that his retirement will be very soon, after commenting on his podcast that he is “near the end” of his career at NFL .
Brady, now 45, had a tumultuous offseason, retiring in February and then reversing the decision. During training in August, Brady took an 11-day leave of absence to “handle personal matters,” according to his coach Todd Bowles.
Last week Brady said, “As you get older, life changes a little bit. There are different responsibilities that take shape in your life. There are different perspectives you gain.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion spoke on the Let’s Go! 23rd season of the NFL.
“I’m really feeling my emotions intensely,” the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback told Gray. “I think when you get close to the end – and I don’t know exactly when that will be, it’s not like I’m ’10 years to go’, I definitely don’t have that.”
“All this, I will never take for granted. The only time I really stopped and thought was when I hurt my knee. And after that, I came back and said, ‘Winning is great. I love winning and I hated losing, and I still do, but even if you lose and get off the field healthy, there’s something to be gained from it.’ The part is, if you get hurt and you can’t be there with your team, that’s when it gets mentally and emotionally challenging.”
While Brady has said there’s a “simplicity to life when you’re in football season because there’s a rhythm,” he explained that it’s hard to wake up the morning after a game and see bruises.
“And you say, ‘okay, how much longer do I want to do this?’ Obviously, I made the commitment for this year and everything will be continuously evaluated in all these different aspects.”
Brady described how he now has “no margins for error” as a 45-year-old quarterback compared to those 20 years younger in terms of fitness and recovery.
When asked by Gray why he would consider retiring if he’s still acting at a high level, Brady noted the impact of age on his priorities.
“When I was 25, there was the simplicity of 25-year life,” Brady said.
“And I think when you’re 45, and you have a lot of other commitments and obligations that are very important to you — that is, kids that are growing up and, for example, I haven’t had a Christmas in 23 years, I haven’t had one. Thanksgiving Day 23 years ago, I didn’t celebrate my birthdays with people I care about who were born from August to late January. And I can’t be at funerals and I can’t be at weddings.”
“I think there comes a point in your life where you say, ‘You know what? I’m already full and it’s time to move on, to move on to other parts of life.”
Gisele Bundchen Brady’s wife told Elle magazine that she had “concerns” about the return of her husband – already the oldest quarterback in the NFL – returning from retirement in February.
“This is a very violent sport, I have my children and I wish he was more present,” said Bündchen. “I definitely had these conversations with him several times. But at the end of the day, I feel like everyone needs to make a decision that works for them. He also needs to follow his joy.”
She added: “I did my part, which is to be there [para Tom]. I moved to Boston and focused on creating a cocoon and loving environment for my kids to grow up and be there supporting him and his dreams. Seeing my kids succeed and become the beautiful little humans that they are, seeing him succeed and be fulfilled in his career – that makes me happy. At this point in my life, I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of it.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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