Tom Brady on coming out of retirement: 'Never say never'

Tom Brady isn’t ruling out the possibility of coming out of retirement. Asked by Jim Gray on his Sirius XM podcast, the legendary quarterback said he doesn’t see himself changing his mind, but isn’t definitively saying it won’t happen.

“You know, I’m just gonna take things as they come,” Brady said. “I think that’s the best way to put it and I don’t think anything, you know, you never say never. At the same time I know that I’m very, I feel very good about my decision. I don’t know how I’ll feel six months from now, [inaudible] change, it most likely won’t. But I try to make the best possible decision I can in the moment, which I did this last week. And, again, I think it’s not looking to reverse course, I’m definitely not looking to do that. But in the same time I think you have to be realistic that you never know what challenges there are gonna be in life. Again, I loved playing. I’m looking forward to doing things other than playing.”

After many reports and speculation, Brady officially announced his retirement Tuesday in an Instagram post. He leaves the league after an illustrious career that includes seven Super Bowl victories, including one with Tampa Bay in 2020. Brady was drafted to the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft, and would go on to set several league bests.

Over the course of his 22-year NFL career, he threw for 84,520 passing yards, the most in NFL history, and 624 passing touchdowns, also the most in NFL history. He finishes with another league-best 243 regular-season wins, coupled with 35 playoff wins, 19 more than any other quarterback (the next-best number is Joe Montana’s 16).

The three-time NFL MVP was named to 15 Pro Bowl rosters, the most in NFL history, and he was even named to the Pro Bowl this season — though all signs point to Brady sitting out the Pro Bowl, as he prepares to call it a career.

Should Tom Brady come out of retirement, he wouldn’t be the first legendary quarterback to do so. Green Bay Packers star Brett Favre announced he would retire following the 2007 season, but found himself back the next year.

Although Brady seems adamant about his decision in the present, no one can see what the future holds. Either way it was a phenomenal career for the Michigan product, who will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever play.