Speculation About Tom Brady’s Retirement Intensifies

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington first reported that Brady would be retiring around 2:30 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, citing “multiple sources.” Brady’s lifestyle brand, TB12, appeared to confirm the news on its Twitter account minutes later, but subsequently deleted its post.

At the time of the news breaking, a representative from the Buccaneers said he was unable to confirm Brady’s retirement. Bruce Arians, the team’s head coach, told the Tampa Bay Times that Brady had not informed the organization of his plans to retire.

Adding to the confusion, Brady’s retirement was splashed on the front of NFL.com, which cited its insider reporter Ian Rapoport. The retirement was also heavily covered by the N.F.L.’s official social media accounts.

A league spokesman, Brian McCarthy, meanwhile, said the N.F.L. had not been officially informed that Brady is retiring. The N.F.L. is not only a football league but also a media company competing to report news like any other, two ends that sometimes awkwardly intersect.

Yee’s statement attempted to pause the commotion, and potentially allow Brady to announce his future plans on his own terms, but the news cycle was already churning. At 4 p.m. Eastern time, Mike Silver reported for Bally Sports that Brady had contacted Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht to tell him he had not made a final decision on retirement. Bay Area news station KRON followed with a report citing Brady’s father, Tom Brady Sr., as saying that his son is not retiring.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/29/sports/football/tom-brady-retirement.html