Tom Brady's Camp Pushes Back Against Retirement Reports originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
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Tom Brady hasn't called it a career after all. At least, not yet.
ESPN reported Saturday that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is retiring after 22 NFL seasons. But according to sources close to Brady, including his agent Don Yee, the 44-year-old remains undecided on his future.
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"I understand the advance speculation about Tom's future," Yee wrote in a statement. "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."
Brady also reached out to Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht and told him he has not made a decision on retirement, per Bally Sports' Mike Silver and the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud. Jeff Howe of The Athletic adds that Brady told the Bucs he "isn't even close" on a decision.
In addition, Brady's TB12 brand deleted its tweet acknowledging the retirement news.
His mother also told NBC Bay Area that the news of the retirement was premature.
A messy situation all around.
Perhaps Brady wanted to break the news his way rather than having it leak through the media. Or, maybe there's still a legitimate chance he returns for another season. Either way, it's clear we won't know the truth until we hear it from Brady himself.
