Football: Is NFL star Tom Brady retiring?

(sda/dpa/apa) Does he go or does he stay? The rumor mill surrounding star quarterback Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been simmering since Saturday regarding his departure from professional football.

The National Football League (NFL) had already said goodbye to the seven-time Super Bowl champion for almost two hours. Then reports suddenly appeared that the 44-year-old had not yet made his decision to resign.

Only Brady knows what’s true. This was also emphasized by his agent Don Yee. “Without addressing the accuracy or inaccuracy of the reports, Tom will be the only one expressing his plans with absolute accuracy,” the statement said.

Father speaks of assumptions

Brady’s father, Tom Senior, even described the reports of his resignation as “total conjecture,” he told NFL Network. “Tommy hasn’t made a final decision one way or the other and anyone who says otherwise is dead wrong.”

Players like Chris Godwin, the NFL itself and even his company, TB12sports, had only recently congratulated Brady via Twitter on a career spanning 22 professional years that is second to none and has made Brady one of the best athletes on the planet for many. The family man won seven championships, six with the New England Patriots and one with Tampa Bay.

Contract runs for one more year

He was one of the best teams in the league for 20 years with the Patriots, and in his first year after moving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he clinched the title again at the end of last season. The “Bucs” became the first team to win the championship at home – after 18 years before Brady’s arrival they hadn’t even won a playoff game. His contract in Florida runs for another year. But the decision as to whether he fulfills this contract is his alone.

When the US sports broadcaster ESPN reported on Saturday, citing several anonymous sources, that the playmaker had decided, only the timing was a bit surprising. Brady himself had recently commented on his future shortly after leaving the Los Angeles Rams and pointed out that he had not yet dealt with it so shortly after the game. But he also said: “My children are not getting any younger and I want to make sure that they get what they need.”

A resignation would not be necessary for sporting reasons. He also showed this season that the oldest player in the league can still do it. In the NFL season, for example, he had the best scores for touchdowns, successful passes, attempted passes and yards thrown. Against the Rams, Brady almost made a comeback for the Buccaneers, for which he is feared and respected in the league.