Bucs' Tom Brady Discusses His NFL Future: 'I Know I Don't Have a Lot Left'

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said he still believes the end of his NFL career is on the horizon despite coming out of a short-lived retirement earlier in the offseason.

Brady told ESPN's Tom VanHaaren he returned to the Bucs to "give myself and my teammates and our organization another incredible opportunity to accomplish something that we'd all be very proud of," but soon family life will call him away from football.

"I know I don't have a lot left, I really do. I know I'm at the end of my career," he said. "I wish you could go forever, but it's just not and football comes at too high of a cost now. My kids are getting older and it's just getting harder and harder to miss these things." 

Brady announced Feb. 1 that he was no longer going to make the "competitive commitment" necessary to play in the NFL. Six weeks later, he confirmed his return for a 23rd season.

"These past two months I have realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands," he wrote on Instagram. "That time will come. But it's not now."

There may have been more to the situation than met the eye, though.

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reported there was a grand scheme in motion where Brady would have accepted a front-office role with the Miami Dolphins, helped hired former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton to lead the team's coaching staff and then unretired to take over as Miami's QB once Tampa had found a replacement.

That idea fell apart when former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and three teams alleging racial discrimination in their hiring and firing practices.

"The lawsuit messed up everything, per the source," Volin reported. "The plan to hire a white coach and a white team president without going through the Rooney Rule probably wouldn't fly once the Dolphins were sued for racial discrimination."

So, with Brady still wanting to play and the Dolphins idea no longer on the table, he opted for a return to the Bucs, which was followed by Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians moving to a new role in the organization and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles being promoted to head coach.

The future Hall of Fame quarterback focused on his love for football when explaining his return.

"At the end of the day, I just love the competition on the field," Brady told ESPN. "And last year was a very bitter ending to a season, and we've got to make a lot of corrections to try to improve and put ourselves in a better position to succeed moving forward."

He added: "I knew my body, physically, could still do what it could do, and obviously I have a love for the game. I think I'll always have a love for the game. I do think physically I'll be able to do it. I just felt like there was still a place for me on the field."

His departure left a major void the Buccaneers may have not been able to fill in the short term, which would have been a significant setback for a team with a roster otherwise built to contend for a Super Bowl title.

So, regardless of the offseason drama, Tampa Bay will be happy to have Brady back under center to open the 2022 campaign.