'My Place is Still on the Field': Tom Brady Reveals NFL Comeback After Brief Retirement
23:22 GMT 13.03.2022 (Updated: 18:47 GMT 19.10.2022)
© REUTERS / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
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ESPN previously claimed that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady would retire from professional American football after a whopping 22 seasons and seven Super Bowl titles. Brady, 44, pushed back against these claims in January, telling his podcast co-hosts that he remained undecided on whether he would retire or pursue a 23rd season.
After a series of conflicting reports and proclamations by Brady, the 44-year-old National Football League icon has decided to continue his professional American football career with the Florida-based Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to a Sunday evening tweet from the sports icon.
"These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands," Brady said in a tweet that included a picture of his teammates and another image that showed his wife, Gisele Bündchen, and their three children.
"I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa," he added, noting that he had "unfinished business" on the football field.
Both fans and critics of Brady immediately weighed in on social media to posit why the 44-year-old NFL star is pushing back at retirement. Some speculated that it could be tied to Brady and his son's recent conversation with Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
I would not be surprised if there is a connection to his meeting with Ronaldo two days ago and the Portuguese's hat-trick gave him hunger and if that's true then it's one of the Portuguese's greatest achievements
— niv (@nivs163) March 13, 2022
Tom Brady's face when Cristiano asks him, "You're done, right?" 👀 pic.twitter.com/Yx6VRec8zE
"I would not be surprised if there is a connection to his meeting with Ronaldo two days ago and the Portuguese's hat-trick gave him hunger," said Twitter user Niv (@nivs163).
How Tom Brady looking at his family pic.twitter.com/FdGZIPfHMK
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) March 13, 2022
"He's baaackkkk," tweeted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers official Twitter page. Brady notably joined the Florida team in 2020, after 20 years with the New England Patriots.
Weeks prior, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback countered retirement reports and similar beliefs from so-called insider sources.
"Sometimes it takes some time to really evaluate how you feel, what you want to do," Brady told his co-hosts in a 31 January broadcast of 'Let's Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.'
"And I think when the time's right, I'll be ready to make a decision one way or another — just like I said last week."
Brady's bombshell announcement comes shortly after the ball from his most-recent NFL touchdown pass sold for a whopping $518,000, according to an ESPN report citing Lelands Auctions.
"So does the guy who just paid $518k for Brady’s “last touchdown” get his [money] back???" asked one Twitter user.
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