Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has expressed several times his intention to play until he’s 45 years old before he calls an end to his Hall of Fame-bound career. The Buccaneers gave the 43-year-old Brady a chance to fulfill that dream after signing him to a four-year contract extension that is essentially a one-year deal. After that signing, Buccaneers' general manager Jason Licht declared that he thinks Brady can play until he’s 50 and he can play in Tampa Bay as long as he can, saying the quarterback earned that right after leading the team to its first Super Bowl title since 2002 following its 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Brady plans to play out two-year deal
During his talk with Jori Epstein of USA Today, Brady talked about his earlier plan of playing until he’s 45 and the possibility of playing until he’s 50 years old. “50? That’s a long time. Even for me, that’s a long time,” said Brady, reiterating his earlier intention his goal of playing until he’s 45 years old, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “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,” he added. Brady said he can continue playing after that if he wants to, but “if that’s enough, then that would be enough.” Brady did not show any decline in his game despite his age as he threw for 4.633 yards and 40 touchdowns with 12 interceptions in the regular season.
He threw for 1,061 yards and 10 more touchdowns with three interceptions in the postseason as he led the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl title.
Bucs tickets for 2021 season sold out
The Buccaneers announced through their official website that all tickets for their 2021 season home games at Raymond James Stadium have sold out after the team announced that all of its games, starting with its first preseason contest, will be played with 100 percent fan capacity.
The team will play its first preseason contest against the Cincinnati Bengals on August 14 and will open its Super Bowl title defense against the Dallas Cowboys on September 9. “This is a momentous achievement for the organization and our fans," said Buccaneers' chief operating officer (COO) Brian Ford. The Buccaneers decided to play with 100 percent full capacity in their 65,000-plus seat stadium after consulting with the Tampa Sports Authority.
The move is also in accordance with Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. "We are excited to play in a completely full Raymond James Stadium this upcoming season,” Ford added. According to the team, fans who were vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be mandated to wear a mask or face covering, but those unvaccinated will be required to wear masks.
