Tom Brady finally revealed what made him come out of retirement.
Last month, when the Buccaneers quarterback ended his 40-day retirement, he said in his social media announcement that he has “unfinished business” to attend to in the coming season — and avenging a playoff loss to the Rams might be at the top of his list.
“At the end of the day, I just love the competition on the field. And last year was a very bitter ending to a season and we’ve got to make a lot of corrections to try to improve and put ourselves in a better position to succeed moving forward,” Brady told ESPN on Monday.
The Buccaneers’ season ended in a 30-27 loss to the Rams in the NFC Divisional playoff game — and Los Angeles went on to beat the Bengals to win the Super Bowl in February.
After spending time with his wife and kids in his short offseason, Brady began to feel like he should still be playing. He spoke with close confidants in Tampa, including former coach Bruce Arians, who moved to a front-office role and handed the coaching reigns to defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
According to ESPN, Brady said he’s excited about the “challenge” the Buccaneers have with Bowles taking over. His short-lived retirement was also due in part to a number of realizations he had about himself and what he still has to offer the game of football.
“I knew my body, physically, could still do what it could do and obviously I have a love for the game, I think I’ll always have a love for the game,” said Brady, who turns 45 in August. “I do think physically I’ll be able to do it. I just felt like there was still a place for me on the field.
“I know I don’t have a lot left, I really do. I know I’m at the end of my career. I wish you could go forever, but it’s just not and football comes at too high of a cost now. My kids are getting older and it’s just getting harder and harder to miss these things. But, I wanted to give myself and my teammates and our organization another incredible opportunity to accomplish something that we’d all be very proud of.”
Brady shares two kids with his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen — son Benjamin, 12, and daughter Vivian, 9. He also has a 14-year-old son, Jack, from a previous relationship with actress Bridget Moynahan.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion led the league in yards and touchdowns last season in his 22nd NFL campaign. He completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 5,316 yards with 43 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Brady announced Monday that he and Aaron Rodgers will take on Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in Capital One’s “The Match” golf event in Las Vegas on June 1.