By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – Tom Brady has previously mentioned a desire to compete in the NFL until he’s 45 and on Monday, as he prepares to make a 10th Super Bowl appearance, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback said he would consider playing even longer.
The 43-year-old Brady, who on Sunday will seek a record-extending seventh Super Bowl championship, did not hesitate when asked during a virtual media availability about the possibility of playing beyond his 45th birthday in August 2022.
“Yeah definitely, I would definitely consider that,” Brady said. “It’s a physical sport and just the perspective I have on that is you never know kind of when that moment is.
“There’s lot of training that goes into it. There has to be 100% commitment from myself to keep doing it.”
Brady, who joined the Bucs last March after 20 seasons and six Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots, is already well past the age when NFL quarterbacks tend to be much less efficient but his play has been mostly unaffected.
Despite having to learn a new playbook, Brady threw for 40 touchdowns in the 2020 regular season — his most since setting what was then an NFL record with 50 in 2007 — to lead the Bucs to their first playoff appearance since the 2007 campaign.
Brady, who has already rewritten the postseason record book to a point that there is not even a close second to many of the major marks he owns, said he will play for as long as he feels he can help the team he plays for.
“I don’t know when that time will come but I think I’ll know and I’ll understand that I gave everything I could to give to this game,” said Brady.
“I don’t think I can ever go at this game half-assed, I got to put everything into it.”
Standing between Brady and another Super Bowl title are the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, a high-scoring team whose 25-year-old quarterback Patrick Mahomes has already established himself as the NFL’s most dynamic passer.
“When I see Patrick I see someone who, none of these moments are too big for him,” Brady said of the reigning Super Bowl.
“He’s a great player. I know it’s still early in his career but what he accomplishes ultimately is going to be up to him. He’s got a great opportunity, a great skillset.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
