Tom Brady may have walked away from the NFL, but the league hasn’t fully let go of him. And, by his own admission, he hasn’t completely let go of it either. In a moment when the football world is buzzing over Philip Rivers returning to action at age 44, Brady seems to be feeling the itch to return to the gridiron too.
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From a purely physical standpoint, Brady doesn’t sound like someone who believes his playing days are behind him. On The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal, he made waves by bluntly asserting his confidence: “I’d whoop a— right now. I could go out there and play. Give me a month, I could go play with anybody… I took care of my body great, I mean, I could do it all.”
That belief has been echoed elsewhere. In his role as the lead NFL analyst for Fox Sports, Brady addressed comeback rumors directly and added another layer of intrigue. He confirmed that after his second retirement, at least one team reached out to gauge his interest.
“Yes, when I retired the second time, there was a team that reached out, but I’m not gonna tell you who,” he said on Fox. “It was actually a little bit intriguing, but at the time I was pretty certain that I was done-done.”
If teams were still calling after a 23-year career, seven Super Bowl titles, and two retirements, it underscored just how differently Brady is viewed, even in absence. It also reinforced the sense that the possibility of a return wasn’t dismissed because he couldn’t do it, but because he chose not to.
Brady has repeatedly emphasized that what keeps him off the field isn’t fear of competition or doubt in his ability. It’s the grind. The week-to-week punishment of an NFL season, the constant recovery, and the mental and physical toll of committing to a full 17-game slate no longer appeal to him the way they once did. He’s candid about believing he could ramp up quickly and perform at a high level, but far less enthusiastic about enduring the months-long gauntlet required to get there.
There are also structural obstacles that complicate any hypothetical comeback. Brady is now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, a role that would have to be immediately relinquished if he ever wanted to return as a player. Combined with his broadcasting commitments at Fox, the logistics alone make a return increasingly unlikely, even if the competitive itch still flares up from time to time.
Rivers’ return reinforces the idea that teams are willing to trust veteran quarterbacks deep into their 40s, especially those who rely on intelligence, timing, and leadership rather than raw athleticism. By that logic, Brady, whose game aged as gracefully as any quarterback’s ever has, might be the most believable comeback candidate of all.
