Tom Brady Reflects on Retirement, Family Struggles, and Life After Football
Tom Brady’s football journey is the stuff of legends-23 seasons, seven Super Bowl rings, and a legacy that will echo through NFL history for generations. But even the greatest of all time isn’t immune to the personal toll that comes with two decades at the top.
On a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Brady opened up about what really led him to finally walk away from the game. And while fans remember the dramatic un-retirement in 2022 and his brief return to the field, Brady made it clear that his final decision to retire in February 2023 wasn’t just about football-it was about life.
“My last season was tough,” Brady admitted. “I was going through...
I had a lot of family issues. You know, it just took a lot out of me in terms of my ability to continue to play.”
It’s a rare moment of vulnerability from a player who, for most of his career, kept things buttoned-up and laser-focused. But this time, Brady peeled back the curtain, revealing just how much was happening off the field as he tried to keep things going on it.
After 23 years in the league, Brady said he didn’t feel like he was leaving anything on the table. “I didn’t feel like I was missing anything retiring,” he said.
“When I got older, I almost enjoyed practice more than playing. Because playing, it was a relief to win.
It’s never satisfying, even for me.”
That’s a revealing line from a quarterback who built his career on chasing perfection. For Brady, it wasn’t just about winning-it was about the how, the why, and the what’s next. And when the personal side of life started demanding more of his energy, the balance shifted.
Brady compared the grind of the NFL to running a marathon. “Everyone loves to run the first four miles of the marathon, and everyone loves to run the last two miles of the marathon.
It’s those middle 20 miles that are hard.” That’s a metaphor only someone who’s lived it could offer.
The early glory and the final accolades are sweet, but it’s the long, grueling stretch in between-the film rooms, the physical toll, the mental strain-that defines a career.
His comments come in the wake of a highly publicized divorce from Gisele Bündchen, finalized in October 2022 after 13 years of marriage. And while Brady didn’t go deep into personal details, it’s clear that the weight of those family dynamics played a role in his final decision to step away.
Since retiring, Brady’s name hasn’t exactly disappeared from the headlines. Last month, reports surfaced that Bündchen had remarried in a private ceremony with Joaquim Valente, the father of her newborn. Meanwhile, Brady’s been spotted at high-profile events, including a New Year’s Eve party with Alix Earle, Braxton Berrios’ ex-girlfriend, sparking rumors of a possible romance.
A few days later, Brady was seen at a yacht party hosted by Jeff Bezos, rubbing shoulders with Leonardo DiCaprio and Italian model Vittoria Ceretti. It’s the kind of post-retirement lifestyle that keeps his name in the spotlight, even if he’s no longer throwing touchdowns on Sundays.
But while the tabloids speculate, Brady himself has stayed relatively quiet on the dating rumors. In a recent interview with PEOPLE, he kept things grounded, saying he doesn’t “have time for a personal life” and prefers to focus on his kids and his work.
At the end of the day, Brady’s post-football chapter is still being written. He’s not just a retired quarterback-he’s a father, a businessman, and a man who’s learning what life looks like without the game that defined him for more than two decades.
And if his latest comments are any indication, he’s finally starting to find peace with that.