Tom Brady has yet to reach a decision regarding retirement -- or at least share it with the public -- as rumors regarding his NFL future continue to spread. But he has decided that whenever the time comes, he wouldn't want his final season in the league to be marred by his eventual departure and carried out in the style of a farewell tour.
As part of a tell-all of sorts on his "Let's Go" podcast Monday night -- when he also acknowledged the emotional toll his career has taken on his family life and said he wouldn't be bothered stepping away after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' divisional-round playoff exit -- Brady explained why he would just like to walk away quietly.
"I think that would be distracting for me," Brady said, as transcribed by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "I'm really an ultimate, my enjoyment comes from not a recognition of kind of what I've accomplished as a player in the league. My enjoyment comes from the competition. More so than anything, even yesterday, I was thinking about competing. I was thinking about, this whole year, about competing. I wasn't thinking about anything other than that. So when the time comes to think about post-career and second career, I'll think about those things."
Brady dodged questions related to his retirement on Sunday following the Buccaneers' near-comeback against the Los Angeles Rams, but really didn't hold back on his podcast. But if this really is the end -- and frankly, it sounds like it very well may be -- it truly has been quite the ride.
