National Football League

Tom Brady told Robert Kraft he plans to play another six or seven years

Published Mar. 27, 2017 10:05 p.m. ET

Dan Graf

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft did a Q&A on Monday with reporters, and it seems his franchise quarterback is feeling pretty good nearly two months out from his fifth Super Bowl victory.

Kraft said that Tom Brady, already considered ageless while playing at an MVP level at 39 last season, told Kraft last week that he wants to play another six or seven years.

And if the Patriots owner has anything to say about it, his coach – 64-year-old Bill Belichick – will be around a while, too.

When asked whether he expects Belichick to coach into his 70s, he told reporters, “I hope he coaches into his 80s.”

How unlikely is any of this? Well, George Blanda threw three passes at age 48 back in 1975, but no NFL quarterback has had an effective season as a full-time starter past age 42. And Tom Coughlin parted ways with the Giants two offseasons ago at 69, the oldest age ever for an NFL coach.

So the odds seem long that Brady and Belichick can do what Kraft is hoping, but it wouldn’t be the first time they did what no one else had before.