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41 days ago, the world of the NFL thought it had seen the last of legendary quarterback Tom Brady. Indeed, after 22 glittering seasons at the top of the sport, Brady had decided to call it a day and many expected the 44-year-old to swap the NFL field for the golf course.
At least, Brady had intimated as much during the celebrity golf shootout called The Match in 2021 when he teamed up with Phil Mickelson to take on Aaron Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau. Brady would, of course, end up on the losing side, but there wasn’t any great shame in that given that his opponent, DeChambeau, is currently priced at +2000 to win the Masters in the latest golf odds. If anything, it’s hardly a surprise that one of the best golfers in the world beat him, but once Brady announced his retirement on the February 1st, 2022, fans thought that the seven-time Super Bowl winner was going to spend his time working on getting his handicap down over the months and years that followed.
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That idea was smashed in half when Brady sensationally announced that was he going to return to the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the playing of the 2022 NFL Season, just 41 days after announcing that he was going into retirement.
It must be said that, in some ways, it was a strange development given that Brady, whether intentionally or not, had hinted that he wasn’t finished with the NFL on the night of March 12th when in a conversation with Cristiano Ronaldo that was being recorded.
The quarterback was at Old Trafford watching Manchester United play Tottenham Hotspur and following the game, made his way onto the field to have a conversation with Ronaldo. It was then that the Portuguese superstar asked Brady if he was playing days were indeed behind him to which Brady could only smile and shrug. That’s all the internet needed to go into an official meltdown as the rumor mill was cranked into overdrive following Brady’s non-committal response. Perhaps realizing that the cat was out of the bag, Brady made a statement the following day confirming the news that he would return for his 23rd season in the NFL.
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Of course, it’s hard to say how long Brady intends to play on for but that’s not really the story at the moment, and instead, NFL fans from around the globe are reveling in the fact that the ‘GOAT’ will return.
Indeed, Brady’s golf clubs will continue to collect dust as he heads back to Florida for one of the most sensational returns that American football has ever witnessed. Encouragingly, Tampa supporters should also have peace of mind given that the 44-year-old undoubtedly would have made the decision on the basis of still having the desire to win.
After just 41 days out, fans can indeed rest assured that Brady will still be in peak physical condition and will be an integral figure in Tampa’s quest to win the 2022 Super Bowl which naturally, begs the question, he couldn’t make it eight, could he? Of course, he can, he’s Tom Brady.
