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On February 1, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady retired. As more and more time passes, it becomes more and more apparent that he may well have retired from the Pirates only.
Brady started it all. Six days after retiring (or something like that), Brady said on his own podcast, “Never say never” and “I don’t know how I’ll feel in six months.” Since then, he has addressed the situation several times, most recently adding more ambiguity and something other than finality in a conversation with Fred Paras.
Along the way, I developed a theory that Brady still wants to play for the Photoniners, a team that didn’t want to see him two years ago. He grew up in this area. He visited the Catch game. He grew up supporting the San Francisco dynasty, a connection that rekindled his passion for football and set the stage for his unparalleled success in the NFL. For a guy with nothing else to do, winning the Super Bowl with his childhood favorite team would be a dash of whipped cream on top of a cherry on top of the icing on the cake.
Then came Saturday. Last night/early this morning we posted something about Brady attending a Manchester United football game. Significance to his football career stems from the fact that the Glazer family owns both Manchester United and the Buccaneers, and that the Glazers will ultimately decide if Brady will be allowed to leave the Buccaneers despite having contract for another year, and on what basis. terms. Some (especially Buccaneers fans who don’t want him to play for any other team) scoffed.
Then Sunday came.
On Twitter, Brady posted four photos from the Saturday tour and thanked the Glazers for hosting Brady and his two sons. Taken alone, this does not mean that he can ultimately be grateful to them for his football freedom.
Instagram is a different story. Literally. His Instagram story, a series of photos and videos posted by the account user, contains footage from a day at Old Trafford. Near the end, there is a video of Brady and Cristiano Ronaldo talking on the pitch after the match. Brady’s son, Benny, gets Ronaldo’s jersey. Then Brady gets a very soft third degree from Ronaldo.
“Everything is fine?” Ronaldo says. “You are done, right?”
Brady’s reaction speaks volumes. What he says is not heard. As he says, it cannot be ignored.
It wasn’t clear yes. It wasn’t a vague yes. It wasn’t yes at all. He had a chance to say, “Yes, I did,” but he didn’t.
He then chose that particular interaction to post on an Instagram account that has 11.5 million followers.
He finished? The main question, I continue to believe, is whether Brady can start again with another team. And the only team he certainly has in mind is a team that is ready for the Super Bowl, especially if Tom Brady is added to it.