"Tom Brady doesn't have to do kids" - USWNT star Carli Lloyd on why she can't emulate NFL legend's longevity

Tom Brady is one of a kind, still playing at a high level and winning championships at the age of 44.

It's uncommon for athletes to prolong their careers after the late 30s. Even though they may still feel the urge to play, the body says another thing, and most of them have no choice but to hang their cleats. Brady is not only an exception to this rule, but he also drives the curiosity to know how long he can play until he finally has to retire.

But retirement does not only happen for physical reasons. As athletes get older, their priorities and their lives start to change completely, and the sport is not the number one thing anymore. Retirement becomes the natural option then.

Lloyd says she can't build a family and keep playing, like Brady

United States international soccer player Carli Lloyd is one of these superstars. She wants to build a family and she recently talked about her personal life during an interview, stating that this is the biggest different from Brady as to why she can't follow the same path as him:

“Well, Tom Brady doesn't have to have kids, that's the one thing for starters! My husband, Brian, and I are eventually going to start a family so the clock's kind of ticking on that."

That's a big difference, obviously. Brady has three kids, but he never had to stop playing because of the changes in his body. If Lloyd wants to grow her family, retirement is the only option to do so.

United States Women's National Team striker Carli Lloyd

In the same interview, Lloyd also spoke about how she feels this is the perfect time for her retirement:

“I don't think every athlete gets the opportunity to dictate when they go out, to dictate if they're happy or not, to dictate if they're on top or not. I've always wanted my career to be dictated on me making the decisions.

"This just felt time for me. It gets to be a little tiring, you know? Being away from home, the travel and, to be quite honest, having to stay at the top and prove people wrong. It is exhausting.

It takes endless work, day in and day out and I'm just ready to kind of shift gears and start this next chapter and live my life and do a lot of things that I've put on hold for so many years.”

Brady, for his part, has already said that he thinks he can play until he's 50.