National Football League

Tom Brady and Cristiano Ronaldo: Sports kindred spirits

Published Mar. 14, 2022 5:58 p.m. ET

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

Tom Brady is coming back to the NFL and in this ultra-competitive modern media space, it is only right to salute the news breaker who had the information first.

Take a bow … Cristiano Ronaldo?

Ronaldo — the Manchester United soccer superstar — wasn’t fervently texting sources and trading info on Brady’s status, but when the pair met at United’s Old Trafford stadium on Saturday, he did what every good journalist should and asked the obvious question.

"So, you’re done right?"

Brady’s response was priceless. His coy reaction was the face that launched a thousand memes, with an awkward smile and what social media sleuths and lip readers believe was a drawn-out and non-committal "prooooobably."

A day later the announcement was in: Brady was back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 23rd season in a move that threw everything for a loop and had the NFL world talking of nothing else.

Suddenly, the NFC South is no longer wide open. Suddenly, the Deshaun Watson trade market looks very different. Suddenly, the answer to the hypothetical question of "Who will win eight Super Bowl rings?" isn’t necessarily "No one." Suddenly, the NFL has its biggest name and alpha male right in the thick of things once again.

One thing the interaction between two legends of sports does is spark the delicious possibility that their meeting and Brady’s return were not entirely mutually exclusive. A day like Saturday, where he and his sons visited an elite sports event, sat in the nicest seats, got treated really well and shook hands with the star of the show afterward, is exactly the kind of thing you might expect Brady to do in retirement.

Did watching Ronaldo still doing his thing at age 37 — tearing apart Tottenham with a spectacular hat-trick capped off with the 81st-minute game-winner — make Brady think that being the guy making magic happen is more fun than being one of the masses applauding him?

"These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands," Brady wrote in his un-retirement message. "That time will come. But it’s not now."

Whether there was anything more than coincidental timing involved or not, it is worth considering this: There are very few people Brady could talk to, especially those somewhere near his own age, who would have any idea what it is like to operate at this kind of elite level for so long. Michael Jordan is 59. In pro football, only three other quarterbacks have won more than two rings, and none of them are under the age of 55.

"Always a pleasure to share some thoughts and ideas with another GOAT," Ronaldo shared on Instagram, before Brady thanked him with a smattering of Portuguese to show he’s picked up some solid Lusophone grammar from Gisele Bündchen after 13 years of marriage.

Brady knows Derek Jeter and spent most of his time since leaving the New England Patriots renting a waterfront mansion from him in Tampa, but the ex-Yankees star is now eight years retired and hasn't won a World Series since 2009.

In Ronaldo, still capable of performing at his prime and similarly committed to defying the aging process, perhaps Brady has found the closest thing to a sporting kindred spirit.

Or maybe he just wanted to have a fun trip with his kids before the big reveal that would put him front and center of the news cycle again, with workouts and meetings and all that pre-season stuff to follow soon enough.

Maybe the trip to England was part-business, part-pleasure. After all, United is owned by the Glazer family, who also own the Bucs. Maybe a return deal was finalized there. Maybe we will find out the details of how it all went down and what was going on in Brady’s head one day. Maybe we won’t.

Either way, Brady’s brief retirement, which was entirely convincing, is over. No more endless scrutinizing of his every comment. No more links to the San Francisco 49ers. No more wondering if he might take a year out and then return. No more guesswork.

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"This guy has done nothing the last six weeks and has made himself the biggest story in sports three times," said FS1’s Nick Wright on "First Things First." "Tom Brady, worst retirer ever. GOAT football player, worst retirer I’ve ever seen."

That’s a descriptor Brady will probably wear happily. After all, he had to be bad at something, right? Now he gets to play at the age of 45, a long-stated goal, and, with a bit of salary cap finagling, do it with a group capable of making another title run.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing is that, after 22 years in the NFL and closer in age to John Elway than to Patrick Mahomes, Brady doesn't have anyone questioning whether he can still perform at the top level. He’s proved that. The doubters have given up because everyone gets sick of being wrong sooner or later.

Remember all that talk about Tom vs. Time. As we all know, Tom won. Now he’s back for the rematch.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.