UPDATED 1/29, 4:40 p.m. ET: Tom Brady’s future remains unclear despite previous reports that the seven-time Super Bowl champion was retiring after 22 seasons.
Just an hour after ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington broke the news, Michael Silver of Bally Sports took to Twitter to report that Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM Jason Licht was informed by Brady that he hasn’t yet made a final decision regarding his retirement.
Brady’s agent, Don Yee, reiterated Licht’s remarks in a statement to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“I understand the advance speculation about Tom’s future,” Yee wrote. “Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy. He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon.”
Meanwhile, Brady’s father has also denied the report, telling NFL Network’s Mike Giardi, “This story Mike is total conjecture. Tommy has not made a final decision one way or the other and anybody else that says that he has is absolutely wrong.”
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Tom Brady is retiring from the NFL after 22 seasons.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported the news of Brady’s decision Saturday, which comes less than a week after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were eliminated by the Los Angeles Rams in last Sunday’s NFC Divisional Round.
Sources told ESPN that Brady’s decision is “based on several factors,” including family, health and an expected roster turnover in Tampa Bay.
Earlier this week, Brady hinted at retirement during an episode of his and Jim Gray’s Let’s Go! podcast.
“I said this a few years ago, it’s what relationships are all about,” Brady said on the podcast. “It’s not always what I want. It’s what we want as a family. And I’m going to spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what’s next.”
Brady added, “I’ll know when I know. I think for all of us, you know, we can all decompress a bit. It’s been six straight months of football. Every day consumed by day in and day out football. And I think now it’s just some time to spend some time with my family and spend some time with my kids.”
Widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time, Brady retires s a seven-time Super Bowl champion, three-time NFL MVP, five-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and a 15-time Pro Bowl selection. The 44-year-old future Hall of Famer walks away as the all-time leader in multiple passing categories, including passing yards (84,520), completions (7,263) and touchdowns (624).
Before joining the Bucs, Brady won six Super Bowls in 20 seasons with the New England Patriots.
