Last week, Tom Brady retired from football for the second time. A year after he initially announced his retirement before later reversing course and returning to play one more year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady said he would end his NFL career after 23 years in the league.
On Monday, Brady spoke about that decision in an interview on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd." Brady said the decision was made last week.
"I think the finality of it was just last week," he said, per the Tampa Bay Times. "You always kind of…I think the future is always very hard to predict for all of us. Nothing is really guaranteed. But I think you just take it day by day."
He spoke about the future more broadly, and how he is excited to move into the next stage of his life.
"As my friend tells me, the future happens a day at a time. I'm super excited. I really am. I think there's a lot of great things ahead. I think you need to create space for those things, too. When one thing ends, naturally other opportunities present themselves," Brady said. "You know, I don't try to make predictions. Sometimes I'm really good with certainty and I think in this case, I'm good with a little bit of uncertainty even though I have some great opportunities in my professional life ahead. I'm really excited about those things."
Given how things played out last year, there is justifiable skepticism that Brady is really done playing. He was asked about that as well.
"I think for me, I know in my heart how I feel," he said. "I put it out on the field for 23 years and I'm super proud of what's been accomplished. You know, I just wanted to keep last week really short and sweet and I felt like I've given a lot, I've gained a lot. I've learned a lot. And life is about, you know, exciting things ahead. I think when one thing closes, like football has for me, you know 32 years of my life and it's hard to make decisions like that but it's certainly the right time."
Brady also said during the interview that he plans to start his broadcasting career with Fox Sports in "fall of 2024." He noted that during the Super Bowl this Sunday, he will be keeping an eye and an ear on Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen, the current No. 1 announcing team at Fox.
"I'll be 50% watching the game, and 50% listening to those two," Brady said.