The farewell tour is reserved for the most transcendent talents in sports — Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Kobe Bryant, to name a few. That means Tom Brady, one of the greatest NFL players ever, has to be next, right?
Well, not exactly.
For one, the New England Patriots quarterback insists he hasn’t even considered retirement and has refused to put an expiration date on his NFL career, even after turning 40 this August. But Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has another theory about why Brady won’t embark on the traditional “farewell tour” by announcing his retirement before his final season.
“I don’t think he wants it,” Florio told host Tom E. Curran during a TV appearance Tuesday night on CSN New England. “I think he knows that when he is a little extra emotional, he doesn’t play as well as he ordinarily does, or at least there’s a risk he doesn’t play as well.
“I remember when he came off of suspension last year against the (Cleveland) Browns, that was one of the concerns the team had, that he was going to be a little bit too hyped up. And when you get him out of his normal mindset, then things may not go the way he wants. I don’t think he wants that.
“I don’t think he wants to be treated as a guy who’s above the team, and I think one of the reasons he constantly keeps that (retirement date) pegged so far out there in the future is he never wants himself or anyone else to believe that any given year is his last year.”
Florio’s theory makes sense: Entrepreneurial pursuits aside, Brady is intensely focused on eliminating outside noise, and we can’t see him agreeing to a farewell tour if he thought it would affect his play on the field.
But considering how he’s playing right now, it might be a while before we cross that bridge.
Thumbnail photo via Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports Images
