All-time great quarterback Tom Brady didn’t look anything like a watered-down 43-year-old gunslinger in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After earning six Super Bowls as a member of the New England Patriots, Brady won his seventh Lombardi in his initial campaign in Florida — throwing for 4,633 yards with 40 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
Unlike Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and fellow all-time great Drew Brees, Brady hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down at this late stage in his career.
It now looks like the GOAT could very well continue his career into his age-45 season. According to Bovada, odds favor Brady playing through at least the 2022 campaign.
When will Tom Brady retire?
- Before the end of the 2021 season: +1600
- Before the start of the 2022 season: +155
- After the start of the 2022 season: -190
This shouldn’t be considered too much of a surprise. Brady had in the recent past indicated that he has a couple of more seasons left in him. In fact, there was some speculation that he could play into his 50s — something the quarterback shot down.
“Fifty? That’s a long time. Even for me, that’s a long time,” Brady said back in mid-June. “I’ve always said 45 was the age that I wanted to reach and that was my goal. This year I’ll be 44, so next year I’ll be 45. I got a two-year contract.
Indeed, Brady signed a one-year, $25 million extension with the Buccaneers back in March. The deal was to help the defending champs retain their core from a season ago. It worked out swimmingly with Tampa Bay becoming the first defending champion in the Super Bowl era to return all 22 starters.
On the field, there’s not a whole lot more for Brady to prove. He already boasts a league-record seven Super Bowl titles and stepped out of the shadows of Bill Belichick to prove that the Patriots were not the primary product of his success in a two-decade run with the organization.
In terms of individual accolades, there’s no questioning Brady’s status as the greatest of all time.
Tom Brady stats and standing in NFL history
- Passing yards: 79,204 (2nd)
- Passing touchdowns: 581 (1st)
- Completions: 6,778 (2nd)
- Attempts: 10,598 (1st)
- Passer rating: 97.3 (7th)
What makes Brady’s performance so impressive is the fact that he’s done this through two different eras in the NFL.
During his rookie season back in 2000, Peyton Manning, Jeff Garcia and Elvis Grbac were the top three quarterbacks in terms of passing yards. They were the only three signal-callers to throw for more than 4,000 yards. Fast forward 21 years, and the 2020 season saw 12 quarterbacks reach that plateau.
What does this mean? Whether Brady was playing in an NFL that had rules slanted in the favor of defenses or in the current iteration where rules are seen favorable to offenses, he’s had a ton of success.
Regardless, it’s become abundantly clear that Brady has at least two more years left in the tank. Heck, based on his performance last season, there’s no reason to believe GOAT can’t play even longer.
It’s really just going to be all about how his body feels and whether Brady believes he has anything left to prove.
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