Tom Brady expands on commitment to staying retired

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jun 1, 2023 4:18 PM ET

Quarterback Tom Brady is now telling anybody who will listen that he's truly retired from playing "for good."

On the same day that it was learned Brady told Robin Lundberg of Sports Illustrated he's "certain" he won't play again, the seven-time Super Bowl champion expanded on that mindset while speaking with "SportsCenter" and the "Rich Eisen Show."

Per ESPN, Brady explained during the "SportsCenter" appearance he's "really looking forward to not getting hit" or chased by menacing defensive stars such as Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams. The 45-year-old offered similar comments to Eisen (around the 1:10 point of the video) and said he is "definitely tired of getting hit" on NFL Sundays:

"The game's in great hands," Brady added while speaking with "SportsCenter" on Thursday. "It's time for other guys to do it."

During the interview with Lundberg, Brady insisted he'd already confirmed "lots of times" he wouldn't un-retire as he did in March 2022. However, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio pointed out that Brady declined in April to slam the door shut on possibly playing for the Miami Dolphins or any other team later this year.

Florio speculated Brady's desire to purchase a minority share of the Las Vegas Raiders may have something to do with the signal-caller's unexpected media tour.

"He knows he needs 24 votes to approve his partial ownership of the Raiders," Florio wrote about Brady. "If some owners believe he might come back, maybe they’ll vote no."

An NFL spokesperson told TMZ Sports on Wednesday that Brady could own a piece of the Raiders and also play for the organization if 24 of 32 owners voted in favor of him taking snaps for Las Vegas as a minority owner. With that said, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels indicated Thursday that Jimmy Garoppolo should be fine in time for meaningful games coming off foot surgery Garoppolo underwent in March.

Regardless of Garoppolo's status, it sounds like Brady the owner wouldn't transform into Brady the player even if he received a call from McDaniels later this summer.

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