In the world of sports, they say that time is undefeated, but Tom Brady could consider challenging that notion.
The NFL’s GOAT said that the door isn’t closed on his on playing days during an appearance on the DeepCuts podcast with VicBlends this week.
When the 46-year-old was asked if he would “pick up the phone” should a team see its starting QB go down with an injury, he certainly didn’t rule out a return to the gridion.
“I’m not opposed to it,” Brady said with a grin.
There would be a potential hurdle standing in his way, the six-time Super Bowl winner noted.
“I don’t know if they’re going to let me if I become an owner of an NFL team,” Brady said.
“But I don’t know … I’m always going to be in good shape, always be able to throw the ball. So, to come in for a little bit, like MJ coming back, I don’t know if they’d let me, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
Since retiring after the 2022 season, Brady has been working to buy a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, a transaction that has yet to come to fruition.
There is also the matter of the megadeal Brady signed with Fox Sports to join the network’s lead announcing team this season, after taking the 2023 season off.
The three-time NFL MVP is slated to join Kevin Burkhardt in the booth to provide analysis for games this season, displacing the popular Greg Olsen, another former player.
Brady’s deal with Fox is reportedly worth US$375 million over 10 years – which is more than he earned during his 23-year playing career with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to Spotrac, Brady earned $333 million in total salary over that time.
While Brady also said on the podcast that his playing career is “behind” him and that he looks forward to proving himself with Fox, the notion of unretirement is nothing new for him.
After losing in the playoffs following the 2021 with the Bucs, Brady announced his retirement – which lasted just 40 days.
Brady posted (perhaps jokingly) on Instagram that a surprise party was all that kept him from returning last year.
“The only downside to 2023 was when I was about to unretire in May and my friends threw a surprise retirement party. Kind of forced my hand,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.
The NFL has seen an epidemic in QB injuries over the past two years, with a record 68 different QBs getting a start in 2022 and 66 getting the call in 2023. The San Francisco 49ers famously lost the NFC championship game in 2023 when both of their QBs were injured in the game.
So, with more injuries at the position than ever, Brady certainly is keeping his name in the conversation for a comeback.