New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady apparently is not retiring.
Not that many thought he was going to walk away from the game, especially after finishing the season with a pick-6 in a loss to the Tennessee Titans in a Wild Card game Saturday night.
Brady in a post Wednesday on his social media accounts thanked his fans, quoted Teddy Roosevelt and said, “Because I know I still have more to prove.”
Brady has won six Super Bowls in nine appearances, selected Super Bowl MVP four times, won three NFL MVP awards and selected to the Pro Bowl 14 times. Brady is second all-time in career regular season passing yards and second in career touchdown passes.
“I have been blessed to find a career I love, teammates who go to battle with me, and an organization that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way,” he wrote in the post on Facebook.
“Every one of us that works at Gillette Stadium strived to do their best, spent themselves at a worthy cause, and prepared to fail while daring greatly (h/t Teddy Roosevelt),” he continued.
“In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again.
“And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove.”
Rumors and questions have swarmed around 42-year-old Brady the entire season, wondering whether the free agent to be (his contract expires on March 18) would look to extend his career in New England or venture to greener pastures and try to win at a high level with another team.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn’t allay any of the discussion in his season-ending press conference when he refused to talk about the future of the team with Brady.
“Certainly Tom is an iconic figure in this organization, and nobody respects Tom more than I do,” Belichick said. “But I respect all the other players and all the other coaches in this organization, too.”
Brady has often said he wants to play until he’s 45 and Brady said he will return in 2020.
But where, and under what circumstances, will be NFL fodder for the next months.
