How long until Tom Brady unretires again?

No team with a shot to win the Super Bowl next season wanted a quarterback who’ll be 46 when he plays his next NFL game. That’s gotta be why Tom Brady is retiring. After a prolific 20-year career with the Patriots and a three-year run with the Buccaneers, Brady said in a video on social media Wednesday morning that he’s retiring “for good” because last year’s hanging up of the cleats lasted less than six weeks.

Brady had a truly disappointing season to end his career, looking like an average NFL quarterback for most of 2022. That happened a year after a phenomenal season where Tampa Bay lost in the NFC Divisional Round to the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams. The Buccaneers squeaked into the playoffs this season in the worst division in football at 8-9 and fell in the Wild Card Round to Dallas. Brady’s 2022 was whacko, from rumored appearances on The Masked Singer and a high-profile divorce from ex-wife Gisele Bündchen.

Brady’s next stop is likely Fox Sports, who signed him to a 10-year, $375-million contract before he retired to be an on-air analyst. Likely landing spots for Brady, beyond the golf course, were thought to be the Raiders now that Derek Carr is officially moving on, or possibly Brady’s local team, the 49ers, who just lost in the NFC Championship Game for a second straight season and were likely the 45-year-old’s only option for a winning team wanting to acquire his services. Let’s check back in six weeks to see if Brady interrupts Selection Sunday again to say he’ll play in the NFL for one more year.