Getty Tom Brady has no plans to retire after the Super Bowl.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady recently admitted he would consider playing past 45 years old, but he may have some convincing to do within his own house. During an interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Brady revealed his wife Gisele Bundchen’s first comments to him after the Bucs won the Super Bowl.
“You know, it’s a big moment, obviously, and it’s a culmination of a lot of months of everyone working hard,” Brady explained. “Like I said, there’s so many people around us [who] support us. All the sudden, the game ends and you realize, ‘okay, the season’s over, we won the Super Bowl.’ They’re dropping confetti, and this year was obviously different with a lot of the protocols. But anyway, we were looking for my family, and I said, ‘where’s my family? Where’s my family?’ All of the sudden, I see my oldest son run over to me. ‘Dad!’ you know and I gave him a big hug. I saw my two little ones, then all the sudden I saw my wife and I gave her a big hug and just as I did it, she says, ‘What more do you have to prove?'”
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Brady on Gisele Hinting at Retirement: ‘I Was Trying to Figure Out a Way to Change the Subject Really Quick’
In the past, Bundchen has been vocal about her desire for Brady to retire but eased up in recent years. Brady noted he did his best to change the subject after Bundchen asked him the pointed question.
“I just gave her a big bug,” Brady added. “I was trying to figure out a way to change the subject really quick. So, I think I moved on to something else pretty quickly.”
Here’s a look at Brady’s full interview.
Gisele Has Eased up on Her Retirement Push in Recent Years
Brady’s close friend and former NFL player Jay Feely told Sports Illustrated in 2018 that Bundchen tried to get him to convince Brady to retire while on a vacation together. During a 2018 Wall Street Journal interview, Bundchen admitted she had concerns about Brady’s health but wants him to retire on his own terms. While Bundchen wonders about the long-term impact of playing a violent sport, she “want[s] him to be happy.”
“He’s so focused right now. He has a laser focus on just winning and being the best, and I said, ‘You know what? This is what you’re doing right now in your life, and you need to feel complete in it, because if I’m the one who comes and says something and then you make a decision based on something that I said—”
He’d resent it?
“Yeah, and I would never in my life, ever. I want him to be happy. Believe me, I’ve been with him when he’s losing. Try to be with him after you have lost [Super Bowls]. I mean, I had my fair share, OK? As long as he’s happy, he’s going to be a better father, he’s going to be a better husband, and I just want him to be happy. I do have my concerns, like anyone would.”
Brady Admitted to Being Open to Playing Past 45
Brady has one year remaining on his current contract with the Bucs, but the team has been open about the fact they want the quarterback to sign an extension. Prior to the Super Bowl, Brady admitted he is open to playing beyond 45, his previous target age for retirement.
“Yeah, definitely. I would definitely consider that [playing beyond the age of 45] and, again, it’s a physical sport,” Brady explained. “Just the perspective I have on that is you never know when that moment is just because it’s a contact sport and there’s a lot of training that goes into it. Again, it has to be a 100 percent commitment from myself to keep doing it. I’ve been very fortunate over the years. Alex and I work really hard to make sure physically I can perform at my best because you take different hits. Over the course of the year, you deal with different bumps and bruises, different injuries and so forth. It’s just going to be me continuing to make that commitment to making it part of my year-round process to play football and continue my career.”
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