Will Tom Brady Ever Retire?

By Usulla Little Posted 5/19/2021 in SPORTS

Born August 3, 1977, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr. is already the oldest quarterback to have ever played the game. The questions about his retirement were probably inevitable now that he has led his team to a Super Bowl championship for the seventh time. The 2021 Super Bowl win, Tom Brady’s first since signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, added to his victories in 2019, 2017, 2015, 2005, 2004, and 2002 with the New England Patriots. So will Tom Brady ever retire?

Despite the fact Tom Brady is approaching his 44th birthday and has played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, he has stated that he is not quite ready to retire yet. Brady’s continued resistance to retirement has caused some to wonder just how long he intends to play.

Alex Guerrero, Tom Brady’s personal trainer, stated in 2019 that Brady is one of the most dedicated professionals he has worked with in the NFL. While many doubted Brady’s ability to continue performing and competing at the same level in his late 30s and early 40s, Guerrero never did. He believes Brady has the inner drive and commitment to the game of football to make it happen.

The Recent Retirement of Drew Brees Could Impact Brady’s Decision

Drew Brees, the 42-year-old quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, announced his retirement from professional football on March 14, 2021. Brees had played 15 seasons with the Saints and 20 total seasons in the NFL. Although Brees has only one Super Bowl win, leading the Saints to the franchise’s only championship in 2010, he leads Brady in some other areas. Currently, Brees holds the NFL record for career passing yards at 80,358. He also ranks second in touchdown passes at 571 and pass completion at 67.7 percent.

At the end of the regular 2020 season, Brady trailed Brees in pass completions, touchdowns, and total yards. Now that Brees is not returning to professional football, Brady stands an excellent chance to surpass him in these categories during the 2021 regular season. The question is will he retire instead?

There is More to Brady’s Decision to Retire Than Beating Records

Tom Brady has stated that he felt disappointed in his final season with the New England Patriots. The Patriots did not advance through the post-season at all that year, having lost the AFC Wildcard Playoff game to the Tennessee Titans by a score of 7 to 3.

After the disappointing end to the 2019 regular NFL season, Brady signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worth $50 million dollars. This proved to be a good move since he led the Bucs to a Super Bowl championship after his first season on the team. The deal came after Brady had spent his entire 20-year career to that point with the New England Patriots.

How Tom Brady’s Diet and Exercise Regimen Factors into His Success

His Daily Schedule

John Burns, who acts as the CEO of Brady’s health organization TB12, described Brady as an obsessed and driven man in the February 7, 2021 edition of the New York Post. Burns credits Brady’s positive mindset and his meticulous approach to everything he does in life to his status as an NFL phenomenon. Brady rarely deviates from a strict daily schedule that includes the following:

• Wakes up at 5:30 a.m. and drinks a smoothie and electrolyte water before joining his family for breakfast around 7:00 a.m.
• Works out at his gym from approximately 8:00 to 10:30 a.m. for training and strength conditioning.
•  Reviews the most recent game footage for about one hour before lunch.
• Works out with the team between about 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. during the NFL regular season and postseason. During the off-season, Brady will work out on his own and then go surfing for about the same amount of time. He follows his workout with a pliability session lasting around one hour.
•  Before dinner and after spending time with his three kids before bed, Brady takes about half an hour to review more football films and strategize with his coach for the next game.

Brady also receives a brief daily massage from trainer Alex Guerrero that targets 20 different muscle groups for approximately 20 seconds each. Tom Brady’s workouts do not include lifting weights as much as it did when he was younger. Instead, Guerrero has him focus on lunges, planks, squats, and pliability exercises.

His Daily Diet

As for his diet, Brady avoids anything that could cause inflammation in the body or lead to an addictive habit. Here is just a partial list of foods and drinks Tom Brady will not touch for these reasons.

Brady also avoids any non-organic food or drink or those that contain gluten. While most people struggle to drink the recommended 64 ounces of water each day, Brady routinely consumes a few hundred ounces of water containing an electrolyte mixture. As might be expected with someone of Brady’s wealth, he employs a personal chef along with a personal trainer.

Tom Brady does allow himself the occasional indulgence of pizza, dark chocolate, or a hamburger. His only requirement is that it be the same high quality as the other foods he eats every day. Overall, his diet is 80 percent plant-based and 20 percent animal protein.

Brady Also Aims to Keep His Mind Sharp

In an effort to keep himself spiritually nourished and emotionally stable, Brady practices transcendental meditation as often as he can. He also uses smartphone applications such as Brain IQ to sharpen his cognitive abilities. This particular app was developed for people suffering from impairments like Alzheimer’s disease or traumatic brain injury; however, Brady challenges himself to complete about two dozen games per day to increase his reaction time.

Brady also makes sure that he gets nine hours of sleep every night. He hits the pillow around 8:30 p.m. most nights, shortly after his kids go to bed. As noted above, Brady starts his day early at 5:30 a.m.

Although the wear to Tom Brady’s body will eventually force him to end his career, no one knows for sure when he will retire. That means any team other than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should prepare to compete against a middle-aged Tom Brady still sharp in mind, body, and spirit.