"He needs to follow his joy" - Gisele Bündchen urges Tom Brady to make a decision about his NFL future despite various 'concerns'
Tom Brady’s retirement announcement came as a mild surprise after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were eliminated from the playoffs, and their NFC opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, went on to win the Super Bowl. The bigger surprise came when Brady announced he was un-retiring after two months had passed when he first made the public announcement.
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Soon after, speculation rose whether his wife, Gisele Bündchen, was angered by the decision to unretire. The supermodel and mother of two had been Brady’s biggest supporter throughout the years dating back to his tenure with the New England Patriots, but many speculated that Bündchen was ready for Brady to finally call it quits.
In a recent interview with Elle, Bündchen discussed the story surrounding her views on Brady’s NFL career and potential retirement:
“Obviously, I have my concerns—this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present,” she says. “I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too.”
Bündchen also commented on the media’s depiction as a wife/woman who really wants her husband to retire as sexist:
“I think this is the system we’ve been living in. That’s what society has accepted and what society hasn’t accepted.”
According to the article, after the interview with Bündchen, Tom Brady took an atypical 11-day leave of absence from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ training camp. He would return with fanfare and insisted that, “I'm 45 years old. There's a lot of (expletive) going on.”
Tom Brady has second career lined up
Whenever Tom Brady does decide to hang up his football cleats forever, the future Hall of Famer will have a very lucrative gig lined up. After the departure of longtime sports announcing duo Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to ESPN, Fox Sports immediately signed Brady to a 10-year $375 million deal to head their prime NFL games.
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While Brady does not have extensive broadcasting experience, neither did Tony Romo and Troy Aikman. The networks bet on their personality and extensive football knowledge to appeal to fans who tune into football games.
After two plus decades playing at an elite level in the NFL, Fox Sports will certainly expect Brady’s popularity and knowledge of the game to be worth the hefty price tag.