Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington of ESPN made waves on Saturday when they reported that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady would retire after 22 years in the NFL. The 44-year-old Brady was flooded with tributes from teammates and rivals alike, lauding him as the greatest of all time and thanking him for his legacy. However, later in the day, the ESPN report was disputed by statements from various sources, including Brady’s father, Tom Brady Sr., and some pronouncements from Buccaneers team officials, including head coach Bruce Arians and general manager Jason Licht.
Brady’s father told Mike Giardi of NFL Network that the ESPN story is “a total conjecture,” stressing that his son has not made a final decision one way or the other. “Anybody else that says that he has absolutely wrong,” said Brady Sr., who earlier told San Francisco news outlet KRON4 that his son is not retiring.
Ethan Sears of the New York Post also reported that Arians said that Brady hadn’t informed the organization about his plan to retire after two years with the Buccaneers. “No, he hasn’t that we know of,” Arians said, adding that Brady’s agent Don Yee told him that the quarterback hasn’t made up his mind yet. Brady’s company, TB12 Sports, earlier posted a tribute about Brady’s career but later deleted it.
Yee also released a statement, saying that Brady “will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy.” The agent said that his client would make the announcement soon as he was aware of the realities of the football business and the planning calendar.
Edelman shares a funny reaction to Brady’s retirement
Wide receiver Julian Edelman was among the first to pay tribute to Brady after the news of his retirement broke out, tweeting, “Thanks for the memories, babe.
@TomBrady”. But when he realized that the news wasn’t official, Edelman posted another tweet, saying, “Can’t a guy thank another guy for the memories without everyone thinking he’s retiring!?”, per Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports. Edelman played 12 seasons alongside Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning three Super Bowl rings.
Earlier, Edelman said it’s hard to guess Brady’s decision because he’s showing his poker face.
Brady holds various NFL all-time records
In case he retires, Brady will bring several all-time records with him. In addition to seven Super Bowl rings, Brady’s Hall of Fame-bound career features five Super Bowl most Valuable Player (MVP) trophies and three regular-season MVPs. He also holds the mark for touchdown passes with 624, passing yards with 84,250, completions with 7,263, pass attempts with 11,317, and QB wins with 243.
