Tom Brady says he “definitely” wants to play past age 45

Tom Brady has said he wants to play until he turns 45, but his performance this year has him eyeing a longer timeframe.

On Aug. 3, 2022, Tom Brady will turn 45 years old.

Brady has said he’d like to play to that age, through that season. He signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason, but with the first season paying off with a trip to the Super Bowl the relationship could extend beyond that. The structure of the contract pointed to Brady playing longer, be it in a Buccaneers’ uniform or not.

Brady had another fine season this year, with 4,633 yards (third in the league), 40 touchdowns (tied for second in the league) and 12 interceptions. The wall can come quickly for older quarterbacks (see Peyton Manning-2015, Brett Favre-2010 and Drew Brees this year), but 2021 doesn’t look like it’ll necessarily be that sudden wall for Brady. As for 2022, when he’ll be 45, that might be different.

On Monday, as the Super Bowl teams kicked off their media availability for the week, Brady was asked about playing past age 45 if he keeps playing like he did this year.

Should we even doubt Tom Brady at this point?

Assuming Brees retires, Brady needs 1,155 yards to become the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage. At this year’s per game yardage rate, or even off that pace by a significant chunk, a healthy Brady will get there within the first handful of games next season.

Playing to age 45, let alone past it, would be virtually unprecedented. George Blanda played until 1975, at age 48, but he spent his last several seasons barely playing quarterback and primarily as a kicker. Among quarterbacks, Vinny Testaverde started six games during his age-44 season for the Carolina Panthers in 2007. Steve DeBerg started once for the 1998 Atlanta Falcons at age 44, after a years-long hiatus that encompassed his 40s to that point.

As Al Michaels said, Father Time doesn’t know Tom Brady’s address (recent relocation from Boston to Tampa aside, I suppose). This year showed he still has plenty left and he can avoid taking big hits, so it’s no surprise he won’t shut the door on playing longer than he has expected.