Getty Tom Brady opens up more about playing until age 50.
Tom Brady addressed one of the most-Googled questions about himself in a surprising way in the 2021 season debut of Tommy & Gronky.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and Rob Gronkowski, the team’s star tight end, began the second season of their YouTube show on Thursday. In talking about commonly-Googled questions about each other, Gronkowski asked Brady if he will play to age 50 — a burning topic from earlier this summer.
“Wow. Seems to be a really hot question lately,” Brady said in the video. “Can Tom Brady play ’til 50? Like 50 years old?”
“You’re 44. It’s six more years,” Gronkowski responded.
“I don’t find it so difficult,” Brady said. “Plus in Florida, it’s kind of retiree state, so I feel like I can play and then just glide into retirement. I think I can. I think that’s a yes.”
Brady didn’t sound that confident in the summer when Bucs general manager Jason Licht said Brady is welcome to play until age 50 for the team. Licht gave Brady a contract extension after winning the Super Bowl with the Bucs.
“I told him if he wants to play until he’s 50, and he’s still playing, and he feels like he can still play, he can play until he’s 50,” Licht said on the Rich Eisen Show in May.
He’ll be 44 this coming season, so did @TomBrady give @Buccaneers GM Jason Licht any indication this latest contract extension would be his last?
“50? That’s a long time. Even for me, that’s a long time,” Brady said in an interview with USA Today’s Jori Epstein. “I’ve always said 45 was the age that I wanted to reach and that was my goal. This year I’ll be 44, so next year I’ll be 45. I got a two-year contract.”
“I’m going to be able to obviously play this year and God forbid anything happens but play next year and then see what happens after that,” Brady added. “If I still want to keep playing, I might be able to do that. And if that’s enough, then that would be enough.”
Gronkowski’s Caveat on Brady’s Retirement Age
Gronkowski interjected on Brady’s comment in Tommy & Gronky faster than catching a deep throw from the 22nd-year quarterback. Brady’s longtime teammate knows that Brady’s wife will need to sign on how long the three-time MVP plays.
“You know, there’s a little spin to that (age 50) question. I think it’s ‘will Gisele (Bundchen) let Tom play ’til 50.’ That’s the real question,” Gronkowski said in the video.
“That is a way better question, and in fact, why would they not Google it,” Brady responded after laughing. “I think they should. That is of course, no.”
“I’m just kidding. I’m sorry babe. I love you,” Brady said, referencing Bundchen. “You would let me. You let me do anything as long as I’m happy.”
It may not be that way, either. Bundchen asked Brady after winning Super Bowl LV, “what more do you have to prove” before Brady switched the subject as he admitted on the Late Late Show with James Corden.
“I just gave her a big bug,” Brady told Corden. “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.”
The Real Kicker for Brady
Brady made arguably his most candid statement about his criteria on how much longer he will continue playing in an interview with Football Morning in America‘s Peter King.
“I’ll know when the time’s right,” Brady told King in August. “If I can’t … if I’m not a championship-level quarterback, then I’m not gonna play. If I’m a liability to the team, I mean, no way. But if I think I can win a championship, then I’ll play.”