Tom Brady’s Rumored Non-NFL Career Plans Create a Stir

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Tom Brady won't do standup comedy despite recent rumors.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady may launch dad jokes as often as he once launched touchdowns, but it won’t happen in a stand-up routine.

TMZ Sports confirmed that Brady won’t pursue a “full-blown second career in stand-up comedy” after Radar Online surfaced the rumor on Monday, February 27. Brady, 45, retired from the Bucs and the NFL on February 1, and he will wait a year to begin his broadcasting career with FOX. He landed a 10-year, $375 million deal with the network in 2022, which he could begin upon retirement.

Brady will remain focused on his family, which he previously talked about on his “Let’s Go!” podcast after his second retirement. Despite the wait for FOX until 2024, Brady won’t totally disappear from the public eye or using humor in various media and social media appearances.

“The 7-time Super Bowl champion is, however, in talks with Netflix to be the center of a roast special … with a working title, ‘The Greatest Roast of All Time,'” TMZ Sports reported.

Brady played three seasons for the Bucs to cap his 23-year NFL career, and he led the team to a Super Bowl win in 2021.

Brady Had FOX in Mind for 2024 Before Retirement

Brady didn’t suddenly decide after February 1 to wait a year to join FOX. He made the decision well in advance and informed the Bucs of it early in the 2022 season according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

“My understanding is he told Buccaneers folks in the fall that his plan, should he retire, was to take a year off, decompress and study broadcasters before entering the booth and starting the clock on his 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox,” Breer wrote.

Doubts about the timing surfaced after Brady announced the decision because he already retired once in 2022 and unretired 41 days later. Brady didn’t slam the door on a comeback when FS1’s Colin Cowherd inquired about it in an interview. However, Brady has since submitted a retirement letter to the NFL and NFLPA on February 10, and he announced an unofficial retirement party through his NFT company, Autograph, for March.

“So none of what he’s done over the past month hasn’t been haphazard at all — it actually follows the road map he explained to others months ago,” Breer added regarding Brady’s FOX decision.

Door Still Open for Brady, Breer Says

Breer, who previously interviewed Brady’s father about the quarterback’s retirement, wrote that Brady intends to remain retired but it could change — just not in mid March. Breer noted that potential suitors such as the San Francisco 49ers or Las Vegas Raiders could come calling, and Breer sees a couple of reasons why Brady could entertain a comeback.

“The first is no one knows how Brady will feel come the first day of training camp, or on opening day, when his body clock tells him it’s time for football season,” Breer wrote. “It stands to reason that internal alarm will ring louder for him than any player ever—consider that there’s an expected first-round receiver [Jaxon Smith-Njigba] this year born  after Brady won his first Super Bowl, and you’ll get perspective on that.”

“The second is simpler,” Breer added. “He can still play after throwing for 4,694 yards and 25 touchdowns with a 97.2 passer rating at 45 years old — through a calendar year that was anything but normal on and off the field. It’s also obvious in talking to those who went head-to-head with him through that tumultuous campaign.”