Tom Brady Will Be Given Time on Retirement Decision, Says Jonathan Kraft

The New England Patriots aren't going to shove quarterback Tom Brady out the door as he approaches the twilight of his playing career.

In an interview with NFL Network's Andrea Kremer, Patriots team president Jonathan Kraft said the team is prepared to let Brady decide when his time in New England is over. The Patriots shared the interview on Twitter:

"I think [he] has earned the right to have that be a decision he makes when he wants to make it," Kraft said of Brady's eventual retirement (via ESPN.com's Mike Reiss).

Brady has helped the Patriots win five Super Bowl titles, with a sixth potentially on the way Sunday in Super Bowl LII, and he's unquestionably the greatest player in franchise history.

On Super Bowl LII Opening Night, Brady indicated he'll walk away from the game when he's no longer productive.

"Well, I never want to be a detriment to the team," he said, per NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman. "So I think for me, as long as I'm playing at a high level and I make the commitment to take care of myself year-round, I'll continue to play."

From the team's perspective, it's easy to remain diplomatic with Brady when he's still one of the NFL's top quarterbacks. Despite turning 40 last August and losing slot receiver Julian Edelman to a season-ending ACL tear the same month, Brady threw for a league-high 4,577 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Were Brady to start visibly declining, the Patriots potentially could be more eager to start looking toward a successor. The breakup between the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre was ugly, but moving on to Aaron Rodgers was the right decision. The Packers won the Super Bowl in Rodgers' third season as the starter.

In a perfect world, Brady will retire after either winning the Super Bowl—like John Elway and Peyton Manning—or after having put together another Pro Bowl season.

But given the recent report from ESPN The Magazine's Seth Wickersham on the apparent tension behind the scenes between Brady, team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick, the end to Brady's Patriots career may not be that straightforward.