The GOAT works – or not? US sports media report: quarterback superstar Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers resigns. But then it gets strange – and now the sports world is puzzling over how things will continue.
Confusion about the greatest football player of all time: Will Tom Brady end his great career, in which he won the Super Bowl seven times – or will the legendary quarterback continue and add another season to his 22-year career? The sports world and millions of NFL fans worldwide are puzzling over the future of the 44-year-old. Because on the night of Sunday there were strange developments.
Several media originally reported: Brady is breaking up – it would be awesome. The US sports portal “ESPN” wrote that Brady decided against continuing his unique career after the play-off with defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, an official confirmation is still pending. The “NFL Network”, the official platform of the league, also supported the ESPN representation with reference to several sources from the player’s immediate environment.
But then the news agency “AP” reported: Nothing there! The playmaker told Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht in a phone call that he hadn’t made a decision yet. Several media also quoted Brady’s father as saying that a final decision had not yet been made. And: Brady’s company “TB12” hastily deleted another tweet in which the merits of the quarterback were appreciated. “The Athletic” also quoted Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians: “We don’t know anything.”
Brady’s agent Don Yee reported on this, ESPN reporter Adam Schefter quoted from Yee’s statement: “I understand the preliminary speculation about Tom’s future. Without going into the accuracy or inaccuracy of the reports: Tom will be the only one who has his plans with absolute accuracy. He knows the realities of football business and the calendar as well as anyone, so that should be the case soon.”
The assumptions now: Brady only wants to announce his resignation after the end of the season so as not to take his attention away from the current playoffs and the Super Bowl (February 13) – and to give himself a dignified farewell, away from the day-to-day business of the NFL. Or does the legend continue and start a new attempt at the championship with the “Bucs”?
Failed in the playoffs
Brady left the New England Patriots in 2020 after 19 years and a title dynasty. He continued his career in Florida, where he won another Super Bowl with the Buccaneers and old pal Rob Gronkowski. In this year’s playoffs, the Bucs lost 27:30 to the Los Angeles Rams after a thrilling comeback from 3:27 to 27:27 in the divisional round. Tom Brady is a spectator at the semifinals on Sunday.
The news of his possible resignation also spread among the NFL stars at lightning speed. His quarterback colleague Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs), who could also shape an era of the game, commented on the report on Twitter with an emoji goat – the sign for GOAT: Greatest Of All Time. Brady’s longtime Patriots teammate Julian Edelman thanked him for “the memories we shared, babe.”
German Super Bowl winner Sebastian Vollmer, who played with Brady from 2009 to 2016 and twice won the Super Bowl with the “Pats”, paid tribute to his former teammate: “He’s a lifelong friend. We are all lucky to to have lived in such an era of football, to have experienced it. Such athletes do not exist every few years,” Vollmer told SID on Saturday evening.
Only one question remains: is Tom Brady really stepping down – or is he? The sports world continues to puzzle.