National Football League

Tom Brady on potential return to NFL: 'Never say never'

Published Feb. 8, 2022 5:33 p.m. ET

Tom Brady is never far away from the NFL's news cycle.

And based on the latest statements from the recently retired quarterback, his heart might not have strayed too far away from the playing field, either.

The quotes presented a direct contradiction to the lengthy "thank you" note he released a week ago that bid adieu to football. And despite officially riding off into the sunset with that letter, Brady revealed on his "Let's Go!" podcast that his "goodbye" could in fact be a simple "see you later."

"You know, I'm just going to take things as they come," Brady told Jim Gray. "I think that's the best way to put it and I don't think anything — you know, you never say never."

"I feel very good about my decision," he added. "I don't know how I'll feel six months from now, and if that will change. It most likely won't, but I try to make the best possible decision I can in the moment, which I did this last week."

So will he actually make good on his retirement decree? Or could the future present a reality that brings Brady back to the gridiron?

In Nick Wright's summation, Brady should remain on the sideline.

"All of the guys who retired and came back, it went terrible for them," Wright said Tuesday on "First Things First."

"Mario Lemieux was a shell of himself. Ali was a shell of himself. He went 55 fights in his career, lost once, never was knocked out, and then lost three of his final four. Randy Moss, Reggie White, Deion Sanders were shells of themselves."

Chris Broussard doesn't see Brady coming back next season either, but believes it could be a possibility two years from now. But like Wright, Broussard said that Brady wouldn't be close to the same player, comparing him to Michael Jordan in the process.

"In Washington, he played well individually for a 39-, 40-year-old man. But it didn't really work out. They didn't make the playoffs two years, and his teammates, who grew up idolizing him, hated him!"

Would a Tom Brady return compare to Michael Jordan?

Tom Brady is seemingly leaving the door open for a comeback, saying "never say never" when asked about a potential return. Chris Broussard compares a possible Brady return to Michael Jordan's reentry to the NBA, and makes a case for why this might not be such a good idea.

And Shannon Sharpe's reaction to the quote was more tiresome than analytical.

"On a scale of 1-10 on the ‘I’m over Tom Brady' scale, I'm at 1,700," Sharpe sighed on "Undisputed."

"I'm going to give [Brady] a 2 [on a scale of 1-10] to come back. The things that drove him away from the game are still in place. He mentioned the people that have been so supportive of him over the last decade. Would his wife and kids not need any more support if he were to come back? The man's been retired a week, and he's already talking about ‘never say never.’ For a guy that didn't want a farewell tour, he seems to be wanting a lot of attention."

However, for Skip Bayless, he jumped at the idea of his favorite QB reigniting his flame-throwing fire.

"The message he just sent was to any team in doubt about its quarterback: ‘Hey, I just might reconsider.’ [Retirement] ain't no fun. This is Super Bowl week, and all of a sudden you're not the center of attention, and you're not that big a deal. Is it possible that this is a promotional ploy on his part?"