Report: Tom Brady to Return to Buccaneers Next Season at Age 44

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is reportedly planning to return for the 2021 season at age 44 to finish his two-year, $50 million contract with the Bucs.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported the update Saturday:

Brady, who left the New England Patriots after 20 years and six Super Bowl titles, was his typically efficient self during his first season with the Buccaneers.

The University of Michigan product completed 65.7 percent of his throws for 4,633 yards with 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 16 games. His 102.2 passer rating was his highest mark since 2017, and he ranked tied for ninth in ESPN's Total QBR (72.4).

Tampa finished the regular season 11-5 and will face the NFC East champion Washington Football Team (7-9) during the wild-card round of the playoffs Saturday night.

Brady continued to harp on steady improvement after the Bucs prepared for the postseason:

"I'd say every week is getting a little bit better and a little bit more consistent [with] better communication. We're all understanding each other a little bit better each week. Football season is tough—there's a lot of things to coordinate, there's a lot of moving parts, different players and in and out, you're running different schemes. But I think we've just tried to not take the foot off the gas pedal [and] tried to understand each other a little bit better each week and try to put ourselves in a decent position."

The future Hall of Famer said in April 2018 during an appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference he wanted to play into his "mid-40s" to take on the "great challenge" of continuing to seriously compete for championships at an age when most players are long retired.

It's hard to imagine Brady, who's always been a fierce competitor, walking away from the sport while still putting up numbers on par with the league's best quarterbacks.

If he's still throwing 30-plus touchdowns as he approaches 50, there will be teams with a championship-level roster just missing a proven signal-caller—the situation the Bucs found themselves in after the 2019 season—that will be willing to pay him big money in the short term to help make that title push.

For now, Brady is focused on beating Washington and moving Tampa within three wins of the franchise's second championship and first since the 2002 season.