Tom Brady un-retired once, and he says he's 'not opposed' to returning to the NFL again
- Tom Brady says he's open to returning to the NFL.
- "I don't know if they'd let me, but I wouldn't be opposed to it," he said on the YouTube show, DeepCut.
Tom Brady, who has retired from football twice, says he's open to returning to the NFL again.
"I don't know if they'd let me, but I wouldn't be opposed to it," Brady told VicBlends, a barber who runs a popular YouTube show called DeepCut, when asked whether he'd "pick up the phone" if a team who needed a quarterback for the playoffs called.
"I'm always going to be in good shape. I'll always be able to throw the ball, so to come in for a little bit like MJ coming back," the seven-time Super Bowl winner said, referring to Michael Jordan, who retired from the NBA three times.
"Patriots? Could be. Raiders? Could be. You'll never know," Brady said, although he added that he wasn't sure if he could play in the league if he became the owner of an NFL team. Brady has a pending bid to become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. The NFL has yet to approve this move.
Brady first announced his retirement from professional football in February 2022. Six weeks later, he announced he was un-retiring to play another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In February 2023 — a year after he made his first retirement announcement — Brady announced he was retiring from the NFL again, this time "for good." He hasn't played in the NFL since.
Earlier this year, Kyle Shanahan, the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, told NBC Sports he tried to court Brady to join the team after his second retirement announcement.
"Yes, I was serious about it," Shanahan said, referring to his decision. However, a deal was not finalized.
Retired or not, Brady is big business.
He made $235.2 million in his 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and another $97.8 million across three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per Sportrac.
Post-retirement, Brady has also made investments in different sports teams. In March 2023, he acquired a minority share in WNBA's Last Vegas Aces. In August 2023, he became a minority owner of Birmingham City, an English soccer club. He also owns an electric boat racing team that won the inaugural UIM E1 World Championship race earlier this year.
Brady also has a broadcasting deal with Fox Sports, where he will be their lead analyst alongside commentator Kevin Burkhardt. According to The New York Post, Brady's contract is for $375 million over 10 years. He is expected to start in the fall of 2024.
A representative for Brady did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.