Tom Brady admits he almost retired at this age due to elbow pain originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is the oldest player in the NFL and still leading his team to victories, including a 21-16 win in Germany over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10.
Before getting the Bucs back to a .500 record on the season on Sunday, he engineered a game-winning drive late in the fourth-quarter to beat the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in Week 9.
Brady is in his 23rd season at age 45. He's a seven-time Super Bowl champion and the holder of many, many records.
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Tom Brady reached another historic NFL passing milestone in Week 9
However, his career would have been totally different if elbow pain had gotten the best of him. Why is that?
"When I was 27, I almost retired from the game of football because of elbow pain," Brady said in a video promoting his TB12 company. "Now, I'm 45 years old and I'm still here. No matter the age, no matter the obstacle, it's about how you feel and about what you do."
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Brady doesn't explain the situation any further. He doesn't reveal how close he actually came to retiring. Brady was, of course, a member of the New England Patriots at the time.
He turned 27 in August of 2004, as the Patriots were getting ready to defend their Super Bowl title from the previous season. Brady played fantastic during the 2004 campaign and led the Patriots to another Super Bowl championship, this time over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots are still the last team to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
Brady has overcome plenty of adversity in his career, and he'll need to do so again to help the Buccaneers return to the playoffs in 2022. Tampa Bay is 4-5 entering Sunday's Week 10 game against the Seattle Seahawks in Germany.
