Tom Brady Confirms He's Playing for Patriots in '18; Wants to Play into Mid-40s

Monday was a great night for New England sports fans.

While the Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady may have stolen some of the headlines when he confirmed he will play during the 2018 season in an interview with Fox's Jim Gray.

Raul Martinez of NBC10 Boston shared Brady's comments, including one where the 40-year-old pointed out "I've said for a long time I want to play to my mid-40s."

Brady was clear he plans on playing in 2018, but he did acknowledge he has taken more time with his family this offseason before he once again diverts his attention to the football field, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com:

"Football is year-round for me. It's a lot of thought, a lot of energy and emotion put into it, but I need to invest in them, too. My kids are 10, eight and five. They're not getting younger, so I need to take time so I can be available to them, too.

"... I've really spent the last two or three months doing those things, and I think I'm really trying to fill my tank up so that when I do go back, I can go back and I think I'll actually be, in my mind, a better player, a better teammate, because I'll be really rejuvenated."

Brady turned some heads when he said "I plead the fifth!" when Gray asked him if he feels appreciated by owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick, but the response drew laughter from the audience. Brady went on to praise his relationship with Belichick and call him the best coach in NFL history.

Still, the comments were notable since Seth Wickersham of ESPN reported in January there had been power struggles between Brady, Belichick and Kraft regarding a number of issues. That included the head coach's preference to keep the quarterback's body coach and business partner, Alex Guerrero, at a distance.

There were also questions during the offseason about whether Brady and teammate Rob Gronkowski would even play in 2018, especially after Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Brady hadn't fully committed.

Schefter also reported Gronkowski was weighing his options, but the tight end has since announced on his Instagram page he would return in 2018.

With the two dominant playmakers officially part of the Patriots for the upcoming campaign, they can turn their attention toward avenging their Super Bowl loss to the Eagles with another run at the Lombardi Trophy.

New England has nine straight AFC East titles and reached three of the last four Super Bowls, winning two.