Getty Tom Brady keeps playing for the one achievement that slipped away almost 15 years ago.
While Tom Brady keeps shattering NFL records at 44 years old, Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans have the 2007 New York Giants to thank.
That Giants team spoiled Brady’s chance at a perfect 19-0 season with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Brady shares in the upcoming episode of “Man in the Arena” how that loss drove him to play instead of retire early according to NESN’s Zack Cox, who got a sneak preview.
“Had we won that game — I don’t know, I’m not a big hypothetical guy — but maybe the desire is a little bit different, if you’re looking at a silver lining. Maybe the desire to reach that point, maybe I would have been fulfilled — not to stop playing at that time, but I don’t know. Maybe I’d play another seven or eight years, and maybe I’m fulfilled. Maybe not.”
Was able to get an early look at Ep. 4 of “Man in the Arena,” which premieres next week and covers the ’07 Patriots. Lot of great insight, but one Brady quote really stood out to me.
He said if the Pats had won it all that year, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t still be playing
In Brady’s 14th season since that near-perfect run, he looks to lead the Bucs to a second-straight Super Bowl victory. Brady already has seven Super Bowl wins overall and four since the Giants upset.
In Brady’s relentless quest for gridiron perfection, he eventually chose to pursue in Tampa Bay in 2020 when he became a free agent. With all 22 starters back from the Bucs’ Super Bowl LV team, it looked like the Bucs had a shot at perfection.
Perfection only lasted the first three weeks of the season when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Bucs 34-23 on Sept. 26. Now, Brady and the Bucs look to improve playoff seeding with NFC South rival Atlanta on Sunday, Dec. 5.
Brady, who is under contract through 2022, will have to wait another year for 20-0.
Brady: ‘I Don’t Want to Start Talking About Retirement’
A perfect win-loss record alone doesn’t keep Brady fixed on extending his career as long as he can.
“Yeah, I certainly love the game and I love my teammates and I love practicing,” Brady told the media on Thursday, Dec. 2. “I love the competition. I love the sport. I think what gets harder when you get older is you’re not 25 so there’s just a lot of other important things, too. I’m having a great time. I don’t want to start talking about retirement.”
For Brady, other priorities include his wife and three children, which he didn’t have at 25. His family regularly comes up as consideration for retirement when he does talk about hanging it up.
Not Home Enough for the Holidays
Brady brought up retirement during his podcast Let’s Go! on Nov. 22. He told special guest Oprah Winfrey that he looks forward to having more time with family during holidays when is done with football.
“Practice usually ends (on Thanksgiving Day) about 1 or 2 p.m., you eat about 3:30 and then you’re getting ready for the next day of practice,” Brady said. “And then same thing with Christmas. So, you know, I’m looking forward to the time when I’m done playing football so that I can have some of those more normal holidays that I had growing up that were important where the family’s all together.”
Brady said NFL players “only get about four hours” with family for holidays during the season.