Tom Brady

A look back at the many times the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has talked about wanting to play until 45 and beyond.

I think you have to have goals — you have daily goals, you have yearly goals and you have long-term goals,” Brady said. “I always said my mid-40s,” Brady said of the prospect of retirement, “and naturally that means around 45. He maintained in the 45-minute phone interview that time is on his side.

Fun facts, stats and comparisons trying to put the GOAT's career in perspective on the eve of his 23rd season.

That’s the oddest part to me about how we in the dreaded “media” tend to view Brady, his career and his legacy. 25. It’s easy to look at the Bucs in relation to the 2022 season and see why Brady did come back. 39. Brady didn’t go to the Bahamas this spring just to hit the beach. House once told me he considered athletes who came back, year after year, regardless of injuries or gray hair or emerging talents to fight off, as “small islands of special” in the greater sea that is professional sports. And the rings, of course the rings—Brady needed two hands for those eventually. 24. Brady has also been the game’s cover model twice—and both times in his 40s. He led the league in passing yards during seasons in his 20s, 30s and 40s. There was some frustration with how Bruce Arians ran the Buccaneers, the atmosphere looser than in New England, less buttoned-up and less accountable as a result. And, while some might quibble with Brady’s placement (first) relative to Aaron Donald’s (third), the gap in age between Brady’s accomplishments and those of his “older” contemporaries grows more striking every fall. He predates red challenge flags and the NFL Network. He’s three years younger than Brady and already cleared the five-year wait for induction. As always, the dots that led here connect, in unusual ways, across sports, in defiance of physics, hence 45 reasons how 45 happened and why 45 matters, especially now.

Finally, he's there. As of today, he's 45. It's a truly amazing accomplishment, beyond his seven championships and the many career records he continues ...

That time is coming. We also should assume it’s his last year in Tampa Bay, given the news that emerged on Tuesday. At this point, we’ll just have to assume that each year is his last year.