NFL great Tom Brady ends 40 day retirement, inspired by Ronaldo hat trick
He’s back! (But he never really left.) The legendary American football player Tom Brady has announced his return to the NFL after a brief 40-day retirement.
Brady, 44, is considered the greatest quarterback of all time with a record seven Super Bowl titles. He announced his (un) surprising U-turn on Twitter, saying…
“These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG”
Brady posted his announcement the day after he attended a Manchester United match at Old Trafford in England, during which he witnessed the association football great Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, score his first hat trick since returning to the club. The performance was doubtless inspiring.
After the game, Brady was filmed chatting with the Portuguese star on the pitch. Ronaldo asked him, “You’re finished, right?” …to which Brady replied with an uncertain facial expression. Turns out, he was having second thoughts all along.
His announcement comes the week after American basketball player Lebron James scored two 50+ point games in his nineteenth NBA season at the age of 37.
After his six-week “retirement” that saw him miss no games during the off season, Brady will return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a third season. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots.
Brady returns for his 23rd season just two days after his “final career touchdown football” was auctioned off for 518 thousand dollars, according to auction site Lelands. Brady threw the ball during the Buccaneers’ home playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams on January 23.
A moment of silence for the man who bought it.
In the past nine seasons of the NFL, Brady has won four Super Bowl titles, all in even-number years, including 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. Could 2022 be his title No. 8? We’ll have to wait and see.
