Report: Tom Brady disputing ESPN report with Buccaneers

ESPN NFL Insiders Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported on Saturday that Tom Brady, the winningest quarterback in NFL history, would retire after 22 seasons in the NFL — but a subsequent report from Michael Silver of Bally Sports says that might not be the case.

“Tom Brady contacted Buccaneers GM Jason Licht and told him he has not yet made a final decision on retirement, disputing the ESPN report,” Silver said on Twitter. “Licht is respecting Brady’s process and waiting for a definitive answer, whenever it comes, from the QB.”

The news that Brady might not retire — contradicting the ESPN report from Schefter — seems to align with a statement that Don Yee released to Schefter. Yee, Brady’s agent, provided a statement that implied that Brady has yet to make a decision. Though he did not confirm the accuracy or inaccuracy of retirement reports, he did say that the news should never be considered official until Brady himself says it.

“I understand the advance speculation about Tom [Brady’s] future. Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy,” Yee wrote. “He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon.”

The seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback will go down as the best quarterback of all time in the minds of the many. Nobody was a fiercer competitor, and nobody defied Father Time like Brady.

While Brady is walking away from the game, it’s clear he still has more left in the tank. At the age of 44, the Buccaneers quarterback is coming off one of his best statistical season. Brady threw for 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns this past season for Tampa Bay. It’s not a case of the body failing his competitiveness.

“[Brady] talked on his podcast this past week with Jim Gray about the fact that it’s time to spend more time with family [with the] sacrifice the NFL takes,” Adam Schefter said on ESPN. “If you look at the body of work after 22 seasons, becoming the most accomplished passer and player in NFL history. Seven rings. What else is there to do at this point in time? It’s time to move onto the next chapter of your life, to spend time with your family, to go onto other business ventures.

Beloved in New England and beloved in Tampa Bay, Brady is one of only two men to win a Super Bowl quarterbacking two separate franchises. Additionally, he’s wreaked havoc on every team in the NFL — defeating every franchise at least once.

There isn’t much to say that hasn’t already been stated about Tom Brady. However, the best way to describe his contributions to the game is that the NFL will never be the same without him. He wasn’t the biggest, he wasn’t the strongest and he was never the most talented — but Tom Brady was the best throughout his 22 seasons in the league.

“It’s an adjustment for everybody,” Schefter said, when asked how a routine-driven player like Brady might handle retirement. “Anybody that plays sports at a high level for any high period of time, even not at a high level, whenever they go away from the sport, it’s a transition.”

While the news of Brady’s retirement has rocked the sports world, his agent doesn’t want anything set in stone until his client makes a statement himself, though the news is rampant enough the impending statement from Brady himself is inevitable. As of this writing, no statement has been made publicly regarding Brady’s career plans.

The news was first reported by Adam Schefter via Twitter Saturday afternoon.