"Pressure to do it" - Tom Brady reveals external forces played a part in his unretirement

Tom Brady discussed the forces surrounding his return to the NFL in a roundtable discussion that followed the Capital One’s 'The Match' event. The conversation included Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.

When asked about coming out of retirement, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback said he felt pressured to do it and that the process of playing is akin to a marathon:

"At this stage, it's like 55% yes and 45% no. It's not 100-0. That's just the reality. It's not that I'm not 100% committed, it's just as soon as I make the commitment to do it, it's like 'Ugh. All right, here we go.' It's like running a marathon."

He continued:

"You can't decide two weeks before the marathon, 'Hey, I'm going to start running.' We got right to free agency and I felt some pressure to do it and talked to the team and organization, and it all worked out."

The seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback initially called time on his career back in February during the offseason but that lasted until March when he announced his return.

Brady will be entering his third season with the Buccaneers after spending his first 20 years with the New England Patriots, where he won six of his seven Super Bowls.

In the 2020 season, the three-time NFL MVP led Tampa Bay to Super Bowl 55 versus the Kansas City Chiefs at their home stadium. The Buccaneers won by a score of 31 – 9 while the quarterback won his fifth Super Bowl MVP award, the most in NFL history.

Brady and the Upcoming 2022 Season

New Orleans Saints v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The quarterback, who’ll be 45-years-old when the 2022 season gets underway on September 8th, will be the oldest player to start under center in league history.

Brady will surpass former NFL quarterback Steve DeBerg, who was 44 years and 279 days old when he started a game in the 1998 season for the Atlanta Falcons.

Brady will be looking for his eighth Lombardi Trophy in his 23rd season in the NFL. We’ll see how the future first-ballot Hall of Famer and the Buccaneers fare this season.