This article has been updated since its initial publish date to include more information re: Tom Brady’s retirement from the NFL.
Tom Brady may have announced his retirement from the National Football League last month, but one NFL insider suspects that the athlete, 45, isn’t giving up his helmet and gear, just yet.
During an episode of his titular sports commentary show this week, host Rich Eisen investigated several rumors that he heard while at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. One major piece of gossip that Eisen, 53, spoke about was the possibility of Brady un-retiring for the second time.
While many fans will only believe this when they see it, others might not want to write the idea off just yet. According to Eisen, Brady is allegedly connecting with the Miami Dolphins, who, as BucsWire notes, were “penalized heavily by the NFL” for tampering with Brady while he was still playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2021 season.
On February 1, 2023, Brady broke the Internet after telling fans that he was officially retiring from the National Football League. He confirmed this in an Instagram video post for his 13.2 million followers. In the clip, Brady said to viewers, “Good morning, guys, I’ll get to the point right away: I’m retiring for good.”
READ MORE: Tom Brady Just Issued A Career Announcement Amid Retirement Questions
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Tom Brady Announced His Official NFL Retirement In February IG Video
He went on, “I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first. So I won’t be long-winded.”
The legendary quarterback acknowledged his previous retirement announcement exactly one year ago (and surprise return to the field), but assured fans that this was for real this time. “I think you only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year,” Brady joked.
He continued, sweetly thanking his fans and supporters, “So, really, thank you guys, so much, to every single one of you, for supporting me. My family, my friends, teammates, my competitors, I could go on forever, there’s too many.” The father of three concluded his message, “Thank you, guys, for letting me live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”
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Why Brady’s Teammates Believed He Played His Last NFL Game In Tampa Bay Amid Retirement Rumors
A week before the announcement, Brady seemed to be fed up with all the questions about his future with the NFL for the 2023 season. He clearly wasn’t in the mood to answer that question anymore (we now know why!)
During Monday, January 23’s episode of Brady’s “Let’s Go” podcast, the seven-time Super Bowl winner was asked by the sports commentator Jim Gray if he had any idea when he’d be making a decision about his plans for retirement and Brady responded with two F-bombs. Yikes!
Tom Brady to Jim Gray on his Let’s Go! podcast about whether he will play in 2023. “If I knew what I was going to f—ing do I would’ve already f—ing done it. I’m taking it a day at a time.
“I appreciate you asking. Thank you.”— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 23, 2023
In response to Gray’s question of if he was going to retire anytime soon, Brady said he had no idea what he was going to do. The football player answered in a worked-up way, even dropping some expletives. “If I knew what I was going to f—ing do I would’ve already f—ing done it,” he told the sports commentator. “I’m taking it a day at a time. I appreciate you asking. Thank you.”
“Brady says he has been spending time with his kids and doing all the things he ‘put in the drawer,’ during the season. He said there’s no ‘soft landing,’ for the end of an NFL season,” Rick Stroud, a sports reporter added on Twitter. This meant that Brady was actually considering retirement again.
Brady says he has been spending time with his kids and doing all the things he “put in the drawer,” during the season. He said there’s no “soft landing,” for the end of an NFL season. https://t.co/2AsgwDWFAQ
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 23, 2023
Several of his teammates reportedly confessed that they didn’t expect Brady to return to Tampa Bay. Actually, one of his close friends, Julian Edelman of the New England Patriots, seemed pretty confident that he wouldn’t be with the Bucs in 2023.
Tom Brady And Gisele Bündchen's Divorce
Ironically, the reason that Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, 42, reportedly broke up because the football player wouldn't retire and spend time with his family. The NFL star and the Brazilian supermodel finalized their divorce in Oct. 2022. And, the split has definitely been contentious.
"Gisele was not happy when Tom un-retired from the NFL after such a short time. There is tension between them," a source told Us Weekly in September. Another source told RadarOnline, "Tom's no longer thinking about reconciliation. His football buddies are telling him Gisele is too much trouble. They want him to rejoin the dating pool and go clubbing with them!"
But, it looks like they're both starting new relationships. Brady was recently spotted with model Veronika Rajek and Bündchen has reportedly moved on with a hunky personal trainer. So, we don't think they'll be getting back together anytime soon.
