Tom Brady on NFL Future: It's Not Always What I Want, It's What We Want as a Family

Tom Brady has more than his own personal feelings to consider when deciding whether he will retire this offseason.

"I said this a few years ago, it's what relationships are all about," he said on his Let's Go! podcast (h/t Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). "It's not always what I want. It's what we want as a family. And I'm gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what's next."

He also said, "It pains her to see me get hit out there," when discussing his wife, Gisele Bundchen. "And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad."

Brady added, "Playing football I get so much joy from. I love it. But not playing football, there's a lot of joy in that for me also now, too, with my kids getting older and seeing them develop and grow. So all these things need to be considered and they will be."

The all-time great quarterback's sentiments echo a report from ESPN's Jeff Darlington and Adam Schefter that came before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season came to an end with Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

They reported Brady "remains noncommittal to playing beyond this season" and "plans to take time after the season ends—a month or longer—to assess how he feels physically and mentally while also gauging his family's desires."

Incredibly, his level of play is not the question at all even at 44 years old.

Brady completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as an MVP candidate during the 2021 campaign. He led the league in passing yards and touchdowns and guided Tampa Bay to an NFC South crown.

His brilliant performance only served to add to a resume that includes seven Super Bowl crowns, three league MVPs and 15 Pro Bowl selections even if the team did fall short in the second round of the playoffs during a 30-27 loss.

He almost pulled off a memorable comeback in that game as well considering the Buccaneers trailed 27-3 late in the third quarter until they came storming back to tie it before Matt Gay's winning field goal propelled Los Angeles to the NFC Championship Game.

If this is the end of Brady's career, it is impossible to classify the longtime New England Patriots leader's two-year stint with the Buccaneers as anything but a success with a Super Bowl trophy in the first season and an NFC South title in the second season.

His decision on whether to retire will also go a long way toward shaping next season's NFC battle considering how effective he still was in 2021.