The longtime great NFL quarterback reportedly explored some avenues for a possible return to the sport.
Tom Brady hasn’t played football since 2022, when he retired from the sport as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom he won a Super Bowl title with in 2020. It marked 23 years of, some may argue, the greatest quarterback of all time completely dominating the NFL, with 20 seasons, 10 Super Bowl appearances, and seven titles with the New England Patriots. He left the sport at 44 years old, and the 48-year-old is now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. It doesn’t seem like that door has completely closed for Brady, however. In an interview with CNBC, Brady admitted that he’s actually inquired with the league about the possibility of returning out of retirement – something they’ve reportedly shot down.
"I actually have inquired, and they don't like that idea very much," Brady told CNBC. "So I'm going to leave it at that.”
It’s certainly messier with his stake in the Raiders, giving that there are certainly rules about actively players holding ownership in a franchise. It’s an issue that came up with broadcasting in Brady’s television analyst work, let alone a return to the NFL. Should Brady elect to try to return, he would have to divest his ownership stake in compliance with league rules. Brady bought a 5% share of Las Vegas in 2024 in what he called a “strategic advisory role” with the team. Obviously, that type of role is completely incongruent with him returning as a player.
It’s not surprising that Brady has the itch, though. The three-time MVP already came out of retirement once to play for the Bucs in 2022, which would be his final season. His two-year stint from 2020 to 2021 posted a 24-9 record, which was good for the most successful consecutive seasons in franchise history. 2022 would be Brady’s first losing season in his career as a starter. Tampa Bay went 8-9 yet somehow made the postseason with a losing record due to the NFC South being pitiful that year and lost in the Wild Card round.
It was the first time in Brady’s career he’d lost in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. That could still be nagging at his brain four years later. That, and perhaps Philip Rivers temporarily ending his five-year retirement at 44 to start three games for the Indianapolis Colts jolted Brady’s brain into mulling a comeback. It seems like that itch is buried again, but the fact that he inquired at all is noteworthy.