Brady: Family Will Be Central In Decision To Retire Or Play On

MASSACHUSETTS — Tom Brady still hasn't said whether he will retire or play the final year of his three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season, but he did suggest Monday the end is near.

"You think you're gonna live forever. We're not. We think we're gonna play forever. We're not," the former New England Patriots quarterback told Jim Gray in their weekly "Let's Go!" podcast a day after his 22nd NFL season came to an end with Sunday's 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

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Brady, 44, said if Sunday was his last game, he could walk away "proud and satisfied" even though the Buccaneers' bid to become the first repeat Super Bowl Champions since the Patriots did it in 2003 and 2004 came up short. Brady said he was looking forward spending more time with his family in the off season, and that his family would play a central role in his decision to play another season or retire.

"The biggest difference now that I'm older is I have kids now, too, you know, and I care about them a lot as well. They've been my biggest supporters. My wife is my biggest supporter," Brady said. "It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband, and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad."

Brady played 20 seasons with the Patriots before signing with Tampa Bay before the start of the 2020 season, leading his new team to a Super Bowl win.

"The team doesn't deserve anything less than my best," Brady said. "And if I feel like I'm not committed to that, or I can't play at a championship level, then you gotta give someone else a chance to play."