Let’s face it. For anyone who was actually paying attention, Tom Brady’s retirement just didn’t seem right. Was the greatest player of all time really just going to go out like that? With news of his retirement coming from social media. No big ceremony. No media-packed press conference. Nothing.
Just a tweet from Adam Schefter, followed by a few social media posts from the GOAT himself about a week later? It just didn’t seem real from the get-go, and NBC’s Mike Florio seemed to confirm that with his latest report, in which he summed Brady’s retirement up with the following statement:
It wasn’t a retirement from football but an attempted retirement from the Buccaneers.
For those who may not remember, reports from earlier in the offseason had claimed that the Miami Dolphins were close to bringing in both Brady and Sean Payton.
According to Florio, the Dolphins had contacted the Saints about the possibility of hiring Payton.
As for Brady, he was reportedly set to become a minority owner of the Dolphins. The next step would have been for Miami to contact Tampa Bay about acquiring the contractual rights to add Brady to their roster. However, the whole Brian Flores racial discrimination lawsuit suddenly emerged, putting a kibosh on the whole plan…
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However, as Florio points out, it’s not over yet. This whole storyline could become increasingly interesting next offseason, when Tom Brady is once again set to become a free agent.
Even though it didn’t happen, it’s an important consideration because Brady will continue to hover as a potential addition to the Dolphins. He has a close relationship with Bruce Beal, the right-hand man and successor-in-waiting to Dolphins owner Stephen Ross . With Brady under contract for one more season in Tampa Bay and his deal containing a no-tag clause, Brady will be a free agent in 2023. He will be able to sign with any team he chooses.
Can Brady last another two seasons in the NFL? It’s hard to doubt him at this point — especially considering how jacked he looked in his latest Brady Brand ad.
A Brady-Dolphins partnership in 2023 sure seems to be a very real possibility. Tua Tagovailoa may be the only person who could stop it from happening at this point.
