ESPN Report: This Is How Percentages Work

At long last, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter has determined that Tom Brady, who everyone on Earth assumed was going to be playing football for the Patriots next season, is going to be playing football for the Patriots next season.

You may remember Schefter’s report from last week, in which he revealed that, based on conversations with anonymous sources, Brady was not not considering retirement. The gist of what those sources had to say was, “I expect Tom Brady to be back for another season, but anything can happen, you know?” With such uncertainty hanging over the Patriots’ season, Schefter got to work getting answers. He finally got one today, from Brady’s agent:

“Tom’s intentions have not changed,” Yee said Monday. “He’s consistently said he’ll play beyond this contract and into his mid-40s, or until he feels he isn’t playing at a championship level. I understand the constant speculation, but this is one point he’s been firm about.”

And lest you think such speculation was the result of some deeply useless reporting, Schefter has a lesson for you:

Just last week, multiple sources said they believed Brady would return for the 2018 season, but didn’t know that he would return for it. One source even estimated that there was a “75 percent” chance that Brady would be back — — which means, of course, that there was a 25 percent chance he wouldn’t be. It is why it has become a question within the Patriots’ organization in recent weeks whether Brady would walk away from the game. But Yee tried to dispel this idea Monday.

This is big-boy shit. Try to keep up.