After Tampa Bay lost their bid for the Super Bowl, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have a major decision to make as a family. The Buccaneers quarterback must decide if he’s returning next season—or if he’s officially retiring to spend more time with his wife and kids.
And judging from a recent conversation, it sounds like Bündchen has a strong opinion on the matter. Brady, 44, revealed where his head is at as far as retirement goes on an episode of his SiriusXM podcast, “Let’s Go!,” with co-hosts Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray on January 24, 2022.
During the episode—which came out just one day after his team’s heartbreaking loss against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFL Playoffs divisional round match—Brady revealed that he’s still figuring out “what’s next” for his family and future within the NFL.
“I’ll know when I know,” he explained. “It’s a day after the season. So I think, for all of us, you know, we can all decompress a bit. It’s been six straight months of football, every day consumed by day-in and day-out football.” For now, the veteran quarterback is focused on reconnecting with his family.
“I think now it’s just some time to spend some time with my family and spend some time with my kids,” he said, referring to his wife and kids John, 14, Benjamin, 12, and Vivian, 9. His youngest joined the episode for a moment to say hello, prompting Brady to add, “That’s my little angel. You know, get some time with her. We had waffles together this morning, which was really nice.”
“Football is extremely important in my life. And it means a lot to me,” Brady continued. “And I care a lot about what we’re trying to accomplish as a team. And I care a lot about my teammates. And the biggest difference now that I’m older is I have kids now, too, you know, and I care about them a lot as well. They’ve been my biggest supporters. My wife is my biggest supporter.”
Brady went on to reveal what his wife makes of his recent loss, during which he ended up with a bloody lip. “It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad,” he expressed.
“I’m gonna spend some time with them and give them what they need, ‘cause they’ve really been giving me what I need the last six months to do what I love to do. I said this a few years ago, it’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always what I want. It’s what we want as a family. And I’m gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what’s next.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champ’s comments come amid mounting rumors that he’s planning on retiring after the 2021-2022 NFL season. “Over any other year, this is the first year that retirement has even had an inkling of being thought about on Tom‘s side of things,” a source claimed to Hollywood Life on January 23, 2022.
According to the site, Brady’s wife will play a major role in his decision, as “conversations with Gisele in the offseason [are] going to be a major component on if he continues to play in the NFL or not.” “After every year that goes by Tom has a conversation with Gisele to see where the family stands on him playing another year or not.
And regardless of how this season has ended, this year is looking to be the most important conversation yet,” the source revealed, adding, “The kids are getting older, and they both want to decide how they really want to spend the next fifty years of their lives. And they are going to have many conversations after the season that are going to be very heartfelt.” Only time will tell what Brady’s decision will be—but either way, it’s clear that Bündchen will have a say in the matter.