With the New England Patriots getting ready to play in another Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams one of the biggest talking points heading into the games is if it’s time for Tom Brady to hang up the cleats if he comes away with a win in Super Bowl 53. Brady has already made it clear that win or loss, he will be returning for another season, but what exactly is the right move? Should he hang up the cleats if he wins another one? Or should he come back and try to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again?
Although there are some pro’s to retiring, like saving his body and getting to spend more time with his family, Brady would be foolish to retire because everything points to him being able to lead his team to a lot of playoff success, as long as he is in the league.
The regular season is a cake wake for Brady, especially getting to play in the AFC East. He gets to play the Jets, Bills, and Dolphins each two times. Most years the only game that might give him trouble is the game in Miami so that is an easy 5-1 record right off the bat.
Football can be a dangerous sport but the NFL, and the Patriots do everything to keep him upright. Every time Brady is touched it seems there is a flag thrown, and if there wasn’t a flag thrown there is no doubt a new rule will be written into the rulebook the next year.
The Patriots offensive line is also incredibly consistent and has no issue keeping him on his feet. During the regular season Brady was only sacked 21 times.
Although Brady’s regular season stats haven’t been as eye-opening as year’s past, this is still a really good quarterback and he has shown in the playoffs just how easy it is for him to turn it on to have success. It doesn’t seem to matter who counts them out, or what he does in the regular season, as long as Brady makes it to the postseason, he is going to have success.
There is also the factor of money. Now there is no doubt that Brady doesn’t need any more money, but it’s nice to have an extra 10 or 12 million just laying around for a rainy day.There is also the factor of legacy. There is always going to be the question of who’s the greatest of all time, and although there is no way he can hurt his legacy, this is a guy who can keep building on it by winning more Super Bowls.
I am not suggesting how many more years Brady returns for, because when stars fall it’s usually quickly and that might be the case with Brady but there is nothing to show that is going to happen anytime soon.
This is a story that is going to probably be revisited after every year, but the answer at this point of the equation is pretty simple, he needs to come back and not think twice about it. Sorry NFL, it’s going to be at least another year of dealing with Brady.
