Tom Brady was expected to have three options this spring.
Given his expiring contract in New England, Brady will have to either work out a new deal with the Patriots or find a new home elsewhere. The 42-year-old also could elect to retire and halt his brilliant NFL career at 20 seasons.
Brady’s upcoming decision now appears to be down to two options, as he noted Saturday it’s “pretty unlikely” he’ll hang ’em up before the 2020 season. Deion Sanders doesn’t see Brady calling it quits this offseason, either, and he believes there’s only one situation that would prompt the six-time Super Bowl champion to retire.
“Tom Brady is not gonna retire unless, I feel as though, he’s getting some type of ownership with the New England Patriots,” Sanders said on NFL Network’s “NFL GameDay Prime.” “I feel like that’s the only way that he will walk away and retire. You think he wants to end on a pick-six? You think he wants to end his heralded career, his Hall of Fame, his 100 Greatest Players of All Time (career) on a pick-six? C’mon, man. No.”
Tom Brady is playing for the _________ in 2020@DeionSanders gives his thoughts 👇
📺: @NFLGameDay Prime pic.twitter.com/H3AlwDpylH
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 6, 2020
Brady never has done as much as even hint at wanting to get into the ownership space, but the future Hall of Famer hasn’t exactly been an open book over the course of his career. Should Brady actually covet a piece of the Patriots, it’s anyone’s guess how it would fly with the Kraft family.
One thing is for sure, though: The Patriots’ longtime owner is really hoping we haven’t seen the last of Brady in a New England uniform.