Tom Brady and ESPN form NFT partnership after having a tiff over retirement announcement

Tom Brady has put his issues with ESPN behind him

It appears that Tom Brady and ESPN are back on good terms with the announcement that the superstar quarterback and the media giant have formed an NFT partnership.

Brady was famously unhappy with the news of his retirement being reported by ESPN before he could officially announce it himself. This led many to think that he was in fact pushed into early retirement by the media giant.

Just picked up my 3rd hand-signed @TomBrady #NFT from @Autograph this afternoon 🐐 1⃣2⃣ 🚀

This limited-edition "Man in the Arena" NFT is the very first in their new partnership with @espn. Looking forward to future collaboration drops!

@DillonRose24 #TheGOAT #TomBrady @NFL https://t.co/frDNKe31le

But it appears as though Brady and ESPN have buried the hatchet, with the media company teaming up with the quarterback's side business Autograph for a new NFT collection.

According to reports, the new NFT collection is based on Brady's Man in the Arena documentary. It will have 'three zine covers' covering the highlights of his career. Florio said:

The first release happens today, and it just so happens to be at the same time that the ESPN+ series, for a limited time, will be available to more customers.

Tom Brady sensationally returns for 23rd NFL season

Tom Brady will be back in action after a brief retirement

Following the Buccaneers' loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional round of the playoffs, rumors started swirling that the 44-year-old was going to call it quits.

But as mentioned above, ESPN beat the quarterback to the punch. It reported as early as January 29 that the quarterback was considering retirement, and attributed this information to his father.

This led to the quarterback feeling angry that he could not do it on his own terms and surprise the NFL community. He ultimately announced his retirement in February, but it did not have the same impact due to ESPN's reporting.

Brady did get to make his comeback announcement though. Roughly 40 days after his announcement, the legendary quarterback posted on his social media channels that he was returning to the NFL for a 23rd season.

Now back with Tampa, the 44-year-old is chasing ring number eight. With a new head coach in Todd Bowles, following Bruce Arians' retirement, the Buccaneers are going to be a little different this season.

Much was made of Arians' hold over the offense, with reports suggesting that he did not let the legendary quarterback have too much control over playcalling. Now, with a defensive-minded coach in Bowles, it is believed that the seven-time Super Bowl champion will have greater input.

Tampa has shot up the favorites list for the NFC and, with Tom Brady at the helm, it's hard to bet against them making it to the Super Bowl.

If the 44-year-old does manage to get to the NFL's penultimate game, we all know what he is capable of when the lights shine bright.