Tom Brady on his future: ‘It’s not always what I want. It’s what we want as a family.’

Related: Has Tom Brady played his final game? The legendary quarterback won’t say.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season coming to an end in the NFL divisional playoff round, the future of quarterback Tom Brady is again in the spotlight. Despite coming off a season worthy of MVP consideration, his age makes him a candidate for retirement.

Brady will turn 45 in August, and him stepping away is — again — a realistic possibility. For now, however, no decision has been made. When that happens, his family will have a say in it.

The future Hall of Famer said so himself during a recent appearance on the Let’s Go! podcast.

“As I’ve gotten older, I think the best part is, is football is extremely important in my life,” Brady told host Jim Gray. “It means a lot to me, and I care a lot about what we’re trying to accomplish as a team. 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.

“It pains her to see me get hit out there. She deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad. I’m going to spend some time with them and give them what they need, because they’ve really been giving me what I need the last six months to do what I love to do.”

Brady’s statements are nothing new. He repeatedly mentioned his family commitments in the past even before leaving the New England Patriots in 2020 to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I said this a few years ago, it’s what relationships are all about,” he said. “It’s not always what I want. It’s what we want as a family. I’m gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what’s next. …

“Playing football I get so much joy from. I love it. But not playing football, there’s a lot of joy in that for me also now, too, with my kids getting older and seeing them develop and grow. So, all these things need to be considered and they will be. And, you know, the funny part is always that most guys retire and then move to Florida. I’m already in Florida! It’s really confusing, even to me.”