Brady to address retirement reports in Monday podcast?

Tom Brady Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady to address NFL retirement reports in new Monday podcast?

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 1/31/22

Perhaps the biggest so-called Friday sports "news dump" in recent memory involved the first report that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was "preparing to retire from the game" and would officially announce that decision following the weekend's conference championship games.

Little could anybody have guessed at that time what was to come. Both ESPN and NFL Network produced similar reports about Brady's supposed imminent retirement on Saturday, but Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians later refuted those reports, as did the father of the seven-time champion signal-caller:

JUST IN: Tom Brady Sr. tells @kron4news that his son is not retiring. Brady Sr. says an online publication started circulating an unsubstantiated rumor. However a number of NFL insiders are now reporting it. @kron4news #TomBrady #NFL
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) January 29, 2022

It appears all will hear from the man himself on the final day of January.

As Mike Florio explained for Pro Football Talk, Brady will speak with broadcaster and close friend Jim Gray for the latest edition of their "Let's Go!" podcast that will first air on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio at 7 p.m. ET on Monday night. SiriusXM NFL Radio will broadcast the conversation at 7:30 p.m. ET, and "Let's Go!" episodes are typically available for download across multiple platforms and apps later the same night.

Got to believe if Brady is on tonight he addresses his future in some form or fashion. Bucs still believe the weekend reports on ESPN and CBS were a false alarm but that Brady could retire.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 31, 2022

Brady has a working relationship with ESPN, as the Worldwide Leader is showcasing his "Man in the Arena" docuseries on the ESPN+ streaming service. As Edward Sutelan noted for Sporting News, though, the final episode of the series hasn't yet aired, and director Gotham Chopra teased a couple of weeks ago that it won't be available until the spring:

There will be a 10th episode of #ManintheArena, but it’s still in production and likely out in Spring. As @TomBrady said in #Episode9, perspective comes with time and space so he wanted that to really reflect on what went down in Tampa last year. Be patient - it’ll be worth it!
— Gotham Chopra (@gothamchopra) January 19, 2022

That, of course, was before everything that occurred over the past several days.

As part of the initial Friday report, CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora wrote a source close to Brady said the future Hall of Famer "is very respectful of the game, and has great respect for the Tampa organization and all they have done for him," meaning the 44-year-old likely wouldn't drag this drama out for weeks and even months because of "the ramifications that this decision would have on the team moving forward."

Whether or not Brady would officially call time on his legendary career via a podcast may be learned as soon as Monday evening.

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