Gisele Bundchen is right, Tom Brady has nothing left to prove

Tom Brady retiring from the NFL and then reversing his decision within two months was the story of the offseason. However, his decision has reportedly caused marital problems between himself and Gisele Bundchen.

One of the arguments reportedly put forward by Bundchen was that the 45-year-old had nothing left to prove in the NFL after winning seven Super Bowls. Is she right?

It's unclear just how much influence the former supermodel had on Brady’s initial decision to leave the NFL behind. But it’s obvious that he wasn’t totally ready to do it himself. Brady has the kind of CV that comes around once in a generation, and nobody is going to match his achievements for a long time.

Tom Brady is the most successful NFL player ever

There is very little he could add to his record in theory, other than perhaps leading another team to a Super Bowl triumph. Maybe a team that hasn’t been successful for a very long time. Yet, even in that best-case scenario, it would require him to play for a minimum of two additional years, by which time he would be 47.

Human bodies change with age and nobody has ever won the battle with Father Time. The concern moving forward is that he is putting himself at risk of a serious injury, simply to continue his playing career.

Does Tom Brady have anything left to prove?

Tom Brady - Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New York Jets

Tom Brady has built his NFL career on proving people wrong. He was a sixth-round draft selection and has now worked his way up to being arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport. Along the way, he's proven himself to all the general managers who doubted him in the draft process.

He was told he had no chance of breaking onto the New England Patriots roster, which he did. He was told he couldn’t replace Drew Bledsoe and he did that too. Finally, he was told he couldn’t win a championship without Bill Belichick and he achieved that as well.

The problem for Brady now is that there are no hills left to climb, there are no doubters left to silence. There is no last laugh to be had anymore. He’s the greatest quarterback, he’s won the most Super Bowls, and every single person related to the game respects him.

It could well be the case that without the driving force of needing to prove something Brady won’t get the same enjoyment out of life in the NFL. Gisele Bundchen could well be proven correct.

Tom Brady wouldn’t be the first NFL player to regret playing for too long

Tom Brady - Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Dallas Cowboys

Brett Favre had a similar addiction to football that Tom Brady evidently has, and it could be argued he had a similar addiction to proving people wrong. After being discarded by the Atlanta Falcons and traded to the Green Bay Packers, Favre went on to have a Hall of Fame career, but he just didn’t know how to retire.

When his time with the Packers was up, he refused to retire and moved to the Jets. He refused to retire once more and played two years with the Minnesota Vikings. Whilst it’s unclear whether or not Favre picked up head injuries in his early years, there are particular instances where he suffered concussions during time with the Vikings.

He already had his Super Bowl title and NFL passing records, yet he chose to play on and suffered injuries in those extra years that he didn’t need to endure. Favre now talks with openness about his fears of CTE. He wonders if brief cognitive lapses are examples of the disease or merely part of getting older. This isn’t something Brady should risk merely to stay in the NFL for one more season.

From another perspective, there are also players who played on for too long and suffered a professional impact rather than a physical one. Peyton Manning was 39 when he retired from the NFL. He was Tom Brady’s adversary on the field for so many years and there are striking similarities to the pair as they age. Manning grew up in football and also loved it as a professional, however many argue he retired a year too late.

Whilst he ended up with a Super Bowl championship in Denver, his final year was painful for fans to watch. His arm strength deteriorated and his passes had nowhere near the requisite amount of power in them for an NFL QB. It was primarily because of the Denver defense that the Broncos were able to win.

That isn’t how he would want to be remembered, and Tom Brady is playing Russian roulette by playing on. He could lose his arm strength, despite his incredible fitness regime, and nobody wants to see him throw sloppy interceptions.

True football fans don’t want this, and maybe in this case his wife, Gisele Bundchen, does know best.