Columnist: Buccaneers' Tom Brady should play until he's 50 if divorce reports are true

It wasn't necessarily a secret that Gisele Bündchen, wife of Tony Brady, worried about Brady's health playing "a very violent sport" up to and beyond his 45th birthday that he celebrated in August. 

Now, reports surfaced claiming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and Bündchen hired divorce attorneys amid rumors about their alleged marital issues supposedly linked with Brady's decision to complete another season.

For a piece published Friday, Ken Willis of the Daytona Beach News-Journal suggested that Brady "should try to play until he’s 50" and not retire after the 2022 NFL campaign if the rumors about the signal-callers' marriage are, in fact, accurate. 

"He planned to quit at 44," Willis wrote about Brady. "And he did. For several weeks. Then he decided to come back, for whatever reason." 

Willis continued: 

"Tom will have many, many years to be a dad and grandpa, but he only has the right-now to play quarterback at the highest level and continue redefining the lifespan of his ilk. Tom as dad and husband affects a handful of folks. Tom as a revolutionary age-defier affects millions. Maybe billions."

The notion of Brady playing through the bulk of the 2020s is, of course, nothing new. Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht mentioned the idea as far back as May 2021, and both Brady and longtime teammate and friend Rob Gronkowski later teased the seven-time Super Bowl champion could ultimately add another handful of years to his career résumé. 

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is certainly no stranger to Brady and said in September 2021 that he believes his former starter could play until the age of 50. Gronkowski repeated such a take this past spring. 

Brady's physical health and the statuses of certain personal relationships aren't all the G.O.A.T. will have to consider this coming winter. He already has a new gig serving as lead NFL analyst for Fox Sports waiting for him that will reportedly pay him $375 million over 10 years whenever he rides off into the sunset as a player. At some point, the living legend of the sport will decide he no longer wants to put his body through another grueling season.