Tom Brady claims he nearly came out of retirement in 2023

Early in the 2023 season, it was speculated that legendary quarterback Tom Brady might come out of retirement. After all, he’d done it before and is known as one of the most competitive people in sports. In the end, though, he stayed retired.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Brady never thought about it, and now he has admitted that he nearly did come out of retirement in 2023. It was in an Instagram post recapping 2023 alongside his family where he broke down the situation.

“Looking back on 2023 grateful for every moment,” Tom Brady wrote. “Cherishing the highs, learning from the lows, and looking forward to what’s coming next. I’m blessed to have family and friends filled with so much love, joy, and compassion surrounding me.”

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“As you get older, you realize that this is really the only thing that matters, and I’ll never take these people for granted. Hug your kids, call your parents, tell your friends that you love them, and let’s all help make 2024 a kinder and happier year for everyone in our lives. (PS: The only downside to 2023 was when I was about to unretire in May and my friends threw a surprise retirement party. Kind of forced my hand).”

An aspect of the post is tongue in cheek, especially the way that he delivered the news he considered coming out of retirement again. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine a piece of it wasn’t true for Tom Brady. So, as much as New England would love to get Brady back, it’s not happening. He’s properly retired and spending time with his loved ones now.

Still, Tom Brady left his mark on the NFL. In 20 years with the New England Patriots, he won six Super Bowls. He then went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his final three seasons, winning another Super Bowl. He was also a 15-time Pro Bowl selection, three-time All-Pro selection, and three-time MVP.

Tom Brady retired with 89,214 passing yards, 649 touchdowns, and a career completion percentage of 64.3 percent. He is the all-time leader in both passing yards and passing touchdowns.

NFL owners yet to approve partial sale of Raiders to Tom Brady

Tom Brady is done playing in the NFL, but that doesn’t mean he’s done with the league entirely. One of his next plans is to buy a portion of the Las Vegas Raiders. However, as of now, NFL owners have yet to approve the sale.

Apparently, one of the biggest problems is the price that Brady and the Raiders agreed to for the purchase. Mark Davis, the Raiders’ owner, was giving Brady a massive discount, as much as 70% for the sale. His reason for giving that discount isn’t clear, maybe he wanted to add a big name to the ownership group for one reason or another. However, it has become an issue.

The NFL’s owners aren’t happy about that because it could potentially devalue their franchises. After all, there are only so many other sales of NFL teams to compare transactions against in future negotiations. It’s a sale that needs to be ratified by 24 of 32 owners, which hasn’t happened yet and may never actually happen for Tom Brady.