National Football League

Tom Brady: Retirement decision is now 'year to year'

Updated Jul. 14, 2022 6:15 p.m. ET

Tom Brady is about as close to retirement now as when he actually retired back in February.

In a recent interview with "Variety," Brady discussed a multitude of items, including movie-making and his future analyst position with FOX Sports.

But before he pours his energy into those career paths, he has to put a bow on his professional football career — and he admitted, that time is inching closer.

"I really don’t," Brady said when asked when he would hang up the cleats. "I would say it’s year to year: Could this be my last year? Absolutely. Could I change my mind? Absolutely. I’ve realized I don’t have five years left. I want to do it my way. I want to give it everything I got and see where I’m at. My body feels really good. I’ve had a lot of traumatic injuries over the years, but if things go really smoothly and we win, that’d be great."

While Brady is remaining vague on when he will officially call it a career — he retired for 40 days back on Feb. 1 — he's at least discussing it openly.

"I made the decision in the moment, and I felt it was the right thing for the team to let the Bucs know," Brady said of his recent retirement. "You need time to plan. And then through conversations with [former Bucs head coach] Bruce Arians, [Bucs general manager] Jason Licht, and my wife, I felt like I could still play and compete.

"And it’s not that I’m any less committed once I say that it’s a yes, but I’ve got a 14-year-old son who lives in New York City — he wants time. My wife, she’s been incredibly supportive of my career over a long period of time. So I had to talk with her, you know what I mean? Those decisions get made with me as a family. And I have two younger kids, one 12 and one nine — everyone’s got challenging lives."

Brady is only a season removed from winning his seventh Super Bowl ring, a feat he accomplished in his first year with Tampa Bay.

And this past season, even though Brady and the Bucs bowed out of the postseason in the divisional round, it was against the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams by a score of 30-27.

In other words, the Buccaneers are still contenders and expected to be this upcoming season — regardless of how close he is to being a full-time family man.