Tom Brady reveals the real reason why he chose to unretire amid Gisele Bundchen divorce rumors

Tom Brady is playing his 23rd season in the NFL after initially deciding to call it a career this offseason. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback changed his mind a little over a month into retirement. As the three-time NFL MVP is reportedly nearing a divorce from Gisele Bündchen, he explained why he came back. On the Let's Go! podcast, Brady went into some detail on his thinking:

“I almost look at it like, a football season is like you’re going away on deployment in the military, and it’s like, man, here I go again. There’s only one way to do it. I think Jim, we’ve talked from time to time just about how you enjoy certain moments of it. The reality is you can really only be authentic to yourself, right?"

The seven-time Super Bowl winner added:

"Whenever you may say, ‘Oh man, I want to, you know, make sure I spend a little more time doing this." When it comes down to it, your competitiveness takes over and as much as you want to have this playful balance with the work balance, you’re going to end up doing exactly what you’ve always done, which is why you are who you are. You’re going to go, "How do I get it done?’ You know, ‘what do I got to do to get it done?’”

When Brady made the choice to come out of retirement, it was something of a surprise. It's also rumored to be the cause of the reported rift between him and Gisele.

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The rift between Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen

Brady and Bündchen at Super Bowl XLVI

It was rumored that Bündchen wasn't happy with the former New England Patriots quarterback playing another season. During the offseason, Brady was absent for 11 days for an undisclosed reason. Some thought it was to ease the tension between them following his return to football.

In an interview with Elle Magazine, Gisele spoke on her husband's decision to return to the NFL:

"Obviously, I have my concerns -- this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again."

In the same interview, she accepted his decision to play despite her concerns:

"Ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too."

Overall, it looks as though the 2022 season will be his last, given that he's 45 years old. Brady has a contract with Fox Sports in place for when he retires. We'll see what the five-time Super Bowl MVP does when the campaign concludes.

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If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Let's Go! podcast, Elle and H/T Sportskeeda.