We've Got Our First 'Tom Brady is Unretiring' Rumor in Years. Except This One Makes Absolute Sense.
It's hard to believe this little melodrama, a goodbye scene so packed with emotions Brady might as well have touched my heart, said "I'll be right here" and left a rainbow behind, was roughly 2 1/2 years ago. One, because the feelings still feel so fresh. And also because the announcement came after his previous retirement announcement and dozens, if not hundreds, of rumors he was unretiring once again.
Since Brady settled into his job at Fox, such rumors haven't gone away entirely. there's always some outlet looking for clicks on a slow news day or some fan site wishcasting to fill some QB vacancy or whatever. But still those headlines don't generate the same reaction they once did. They feel dated. More 2022 than a dire warning about a new strain of Covid than anything worth a microsecond of your time.
That is, until this latest one. In the humble opinion of this Tom Brady observer (but always from at least 100 yards away so my court-ordered ankle bracelet doesn't go off), it is definitely worth looking into:
The article is behind a paywall, so here's the same info pulled from another source:
Tom Brady has big plans. Two years after retiring from the NFL, the 47-year-old wants to get back on the field and win the ultimate crown for his country - a gold medal at the Olympics. An insider told the Daily Mail that the seven-time Super Bowl champion is plotting a detailed plan to unretire and lead Team USA's flag football team at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. …
Brady will be 50 by the time the summer games come to LA, but still wants to lead Team USA to glory, the Daily Mail reported, citing sources.
“He wants a Gold medal. And what better way to remain the GOAT [greatest of all time] and return to the sport he loves, by helping his country win gold,” the insider said. They further added that the former Tampa Bay quarterback knows ‘he would be able to help and excel in that environment and since his life is very much scheduled and has a tight regimen’.
“With the Olympics being in LA, he wouldn't have to travel far. And it would culminate in one of the best birthdays ever.” Tom Brady will turn 51 on August 3, 2028.
For the record, neither Brady nor anyone around him has confirmed. But as the trade speculation posts always add, "Who says no?"
To me this is totally plausible on every level. Brady might have settled into a lucrative career of sitting in a booth next to Kevin Burkhardt trying to describe whether some ball came out before some knee hit the ground and whatnot. But he's still a competitor. The fiercest of all time. That drive doesn't just get suffocated under a $375 million pile of Fox's money. T-Rex doesn't want to be fed, he wants to hunt. You can't repress 51 years of evolution.
So what's the ideal way to scratch that competitive itch? This. Yes, Flag Football in the Olympics is silly and meaningless. If LA 2028 is trying for a uniquely American sport to present to the world, it might as well throw in Ultimate Frisbee, Cornhole or Drive-by Shooting.
Advertisement
In other words, it's not worth sending a single NFL player to this boondoggle. This summer picnic. LA's big Leslie Knope Employment Enjoyment Summerslam Grill Jam Fun-Splosion. Granted, when the US inevitably wins, everyone gets a gold medal that looks just like the one Jesse Owens got for sticking his track shoes right into the center mass of Hitler's mustache. But in all sincerity, what is that worth if it just symbolizes we're better than everyone else at Flag Football? I mean, what's to prove? Who doubts that? What do we think, Lichtenstein is going to give us a run for our money?
In other, other words, this isn't worth risking the ACL or Achilles tendon of a single active NFL player. Not a roster bubble guy. Not a second stringer. Not as much as a long snapper. If anyone begs to differ, I vote we sent your QB1 and see how you feel. The sense of national pride that comes with proving we're No. 1 at a sport invented by the over-protective parents of delicate, timid boys who can't the thought of getting hit doesn't mean so much once Patrick Mahomes or Jayden Daniels is signing up. Just ask any Patriots fan over the age of 50 about Robert Edwards:
Better yet, don't. We'd rather not talk about it.
Brady has none of that to worry about. First of all, with the exception of the 1st quarter of the 2008 season, he's impossible to injure. Second, he works from a chair. Mostly though, him turning up at LA 2028 would remind the world what we are capable. It would put our ideal specimen of American manhood on display for human race to look upon in awe once again. The man who was once married to their greatest supermodel, who redefined excellence and set new standards for success, now dominating the world entire at its most celebrated sporting event.
Brady. Rob Gronkowski. Any other Hall of Famers who feel like getting out of the house for a couple of weeks in August 2028. That we can all sign on for. Like the man himself, it's perfect.