Tom Brady says he's 'not opposed' to a late-season NFL return

Tom Brady says he’s ‘not opposed’ to a late-season NFL return

  • Mike Reiss, ESPN Employees AuthorApr 11, 2024, 04:19 PM ET

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      Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has lined the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Yr by the Nationwide Sports activities Media Affiliation. You may comply with Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.

Tom Brady mentioned he was retiring from soccer “for good” on Feb. 1, 2023, however he may be having second ideas.

In an look on the “Deep Minimize” podcast, launched Thursday, Brady was requested by host Vic Blends whether or not he would decide up the cellphone if a workforce referred to as him within the occasion of an damage.

“I am not against it,” Brady mentioned. “I do not know if they’ll let me if I develop into an proprietor of an NFL workforce. I am at all times going to be in fine condition. I will at all times be capable of throw the ball. So, to return in for a little bit bit, like MJ [Michael Jordan] coming again, I do not know if they might let me. However I would not be against it.”

Blends proposed a situation the place the San Francisco 49ers would possibly want a quarterback headed into the playoffs, after which Brady additionally talked about the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders earlier than giving his reply.

In Might 2023, Brady reached an settlement with Raiders proprietor Mark Davis to hitch the group’s possession group, pending NFL approval.

That approval has but to return, with commissioner Roger Goodell saying at March’s annual assembly that the league goes “by means of a really thorough course of” and he believed “it has been making progress.”

Brady, 46, additionally has plans to start work as a sports activities broadcaster at Fox Sports activities this summer time.

Brady referenced his upcoming work with Fox Sports activities on the podcast, saying: “I really like having this problem to attempt one thing totally different in my life. It may problem me in a number of other ways.”

At one level within the podcast, Brady mentioned: “My profession and all that, that is a factor of the previous in my thoughts. I used to be a gladiator on the market, and now my time has moved on. Now it is, ‘OK, how can I ship for my subsequent group of teammates?'”

Brady’s remarks on the podcast, which got here whereas he was in a barber’s chair, generated social media buzz and particularly resonated in New England, the place the Patriots are planning a full-stadium ceremony to honor Brady on June 12.

Brady performed for the Patriots from 2000 to 2019, profitable six Tremendous Bowl championships. He completed his profession with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2020 to 2022, capturing a seventh Tremendous Bowl title.