Tom Brady’s next game will not be his last.
While Brady publicly has stated his desire to play until he’s 45, many still harvested the belief that the New England Patriots quarterback would call it a career after Super Bowl LIII.
Those ideas were squashed via a recent sit-down interview with ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who Brady told there was “zero” chance he’d walk away after next Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. When asked what’s going to eventually push him into retirement, Brady delivered a rather simple answer.
“I think it’s just — I’m gonna know,” Brady said. “I’m gonna know when the time’s right. I’m gonna feel like ‘OK, I’ve kind of had enough.’ I don’t quite feel like that yet. I feel like I’ve still made a lot of improvements and I still feel like I can continue to do it at a championship level. I think that’s where I was at before and that’s still where I’m at now.”
It’s certainly not a surprising remark from Brady. The 41-year-old has great respect for the game, and it’s clear he’s not the type to keep playing just to play. While we’ll have to wait and see if Brady’s skills remain high-end by the time he’s 45, it’s tough to imagine the decorated QB won’t be able to deliver at his usual rate over the next season or two.
For the common player and fan, riding off into the sunset after a Super Bowl victory seems ideal. But for Brady, another Lombardi Trophy likely would serve as fuel to do it all over again in the 2019 campaign.
