National Football League

Is Tom Brady really retiring? Internet chaos ensues amid conflicting reports

Updated Jan. 30, 2022 10:47 a.m. ET

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On Saturday afternoon, as most NFL fans lay in wait for Sunday's NFC and AFC Championship Games, news of Tom Brady's imminent retirement broke and sent the social media world into a collective frenzy.

ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington first broke the news at about 2:30 p.m. ET:

Once the news broke, reactions started spreading like wildfire. Former teammates thanked TB12, league accounts posted tributes to the only QB with seven Super Bowl rings and the sports world began coming to terms with the idea of a post-Tom Brady NFL. 

An hour later, Brady's agent issued a statement neither confirming nor denying the report:

But the news of the day started looking murky when others began refuting Brady's retirement.

Next, Bally Sports' Michael Silver reported that Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht had spoken with Brady and been told the quarterback had yet to make a decision.

Silver's reporting was also confirmed by the Tampa Bay Times. Later came a dispatch from one of Brady's closest confidantes: his dad. Tom Brady Sr. denied his son's retirement to KRON4 in Northern California.

Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians said he also had heard from the quarterback, who said he was "not even close" to a decision.

However, NFL insiders from ESPN and NFL Network continue to maintain that Brady intends to retire and perhaps did not want the news to leak ahead of Sunday's championship action or in advance of Super Bowl LVI.

So … is he or isn't he retiring? There's only one person left we have yet to hear from.

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