Why did Tom Brady retire? The answer to this question would be a good indication of whether he will return. The reasons for retiring from the league vary by player.
Sometimes, an injury forces a player to hang it up. Other times, the player gets pressured by his family. Another reason is that the player simply loses their love for the game. Which boat does Brady fall into?
Max Kellerman, the host of KJM on ESPN, believes the quarterback was pressured into retirement.
On the show, Kellerman essentially said that, if it was up to the quarterback, he'd still be playing. As such, no one should rule out a return before the start of the 2022 season. Kellerman stated:
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"He's saying I have no idea what the future holds. He's basically saying, I don't know what to do with myself right now. I want to play football. My family basically made me retire. I don't know if I really want to retire. That's what I hear when he talks. I don't know if I really want to. they've sacrificed so much for me. I feel guilty about like I want to sacrifice for them.
"But it is a sacrifice. I said from the beginning. If Tom Brady would have said I'm missing it. I don't want to miss this with the family. I need to get I'm feeling that poll and I got the football out of my system. I'm done. I believe he was retired. What he in fact said was my family has sacrificed so much for me. I still love playing football, but it is time for me to sacrifice for them. I don't believe he's done."
Max Kellerman admits he was wrong about Tom Brady-cliff theory
The show host appears to have switched his tune.
Kellerman hosted First Take with Stephen A. Smith from 2016 until 2021. Over the years, Kellerman consistently argued that the quarterback's performance was going to fall off a cliff. Instead, the quarterback never did and continued to win Super Bowls.
In his final year in the NFL, Brady had one of the best regular seasons of his career at age 44. In the 2021-22 season, he threw for 43 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
His 43 touchdowns eclipsed his 40 from last year and every other season with the exception of 2007 when he threw for 50 touchdowns. He also passed for an incredible total of 5,316 yards.
He may not have won the Super Bowl, but the quarterback went out on top. For a player playing as well as Brady did, quitting while ahead could have been the toughest thing he had to do. The next hardest thing will be staying away this fall.
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