New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady may not play forever after all.
Brady, on Wednesday, acknowledged publicly for the first time that he is
uncertain about his future with the franchise as he enters the final year of
his contract.
"One day I'll wake up and feel like that will be enough. When that day comes,
that day comes. I don't know if it will be after this year. I don't know if it
will be five years from now," the 42-year-old Brady said on his weekly
appearance on sports radio WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show."
"But I don't have to determine those things right now either. That's kind of a
good part where I'm at. So I think just taking advantage of the opportunity
that I have this year and do the very best I can do. Those decisions come at
the more appropriate times."
Brady's comments come on the heels of a reminder from ESPN's Adam Schefter
that the three-time NFL Most Valuable Player's contract will expire after the
2019 season and that his house in Massachusetts is up for sale.
"(He's) setting it up to move on," Schefter said prior to Monday's game
pitting Brady's Patriots against the New York Jets.
Brady underscored on Wednesday that nothing is certain about his future.
"I think that's the great part for me -- I don't know. I think that's been a
unique situation that I've been in," said Brady, who is in his 20th NFL
season, all in New England.
"I think when you commit to a team for a certain amount of years, you kind of
feel like your responsibility is to always fulfill the contract. For me, it's
been good because I'm just taking it day by day and I'm enjoying what I have.
I don't know what the future holds, and the great part is, for me, football at
this point is all borrowed time."
Brady previously said in the past that he hopes to play until he's 45.
The six-time Super Bowl champion has completed 180 of 273 passes for 1,992
yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions this season for the Patriots
(7-0), who host the Cleveland Browns (2-4) on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET).
Brady's 72,506 passing yards rank second on the NFL's all-time list behind New
Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (74,845).