Did Tom Brady Retire On The Same Day In Consecutive Years To Give Sports Media Something To Yap About All Week?

The day is February 1st and Tom Brady has retired from the National Football League. Again.

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’re experiencing deja vu — for reasons other than the fact that our reality is a simulation, of course — and that’s because Brady not only retired last year, but he did so on the exact same day: February 1st.

And that begs the question: Why?

While Brady might be retiring from the football field itself, the 45-year-old future Hall of Famer will still be deeply entrenched with the NFL, as he previously signed a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports to be their lead analyst in May of 2022.

This means, In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors (some more successful than others, *cough FTX cough*), Tom Brady is now a member of a sports media, and as a member of sports media, he knows that content is king.

So, in an effort to give the sports media talking heads of the world something to blabber about during the week between the AFC/NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl, he’s retired on February 1st. Brady might be new to the business but he knows the game.

The NFL is one giant ecosystem that strives for year-round relevance, and the greatest quarterback of all time calling it quits during the most famously dragged-out bye week of the season certainly helps them achieve that.

 

This time around, Brady’s retirement announcement came via a simple selfie video that he posted to social media, which saw him sitting beachside as he thanked the fans, teammates, coaches, and more that he’s encountered along the way.

“Good morning, guys, I’ll get to the point right away: I’m retiring… for good. I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first,” Brady said in his official announcement.

So I won’t be long-winded. I think you only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year. So, really, thank you guys, so much, to every single one of you, for supporting me. My family, my friends, teammates, my competitors, I could go on forever, there’s too many. Thank you, guys, for letting me live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”

Given the size of the contract he signed with Fox Sports, you’d expect both parties would be mutually interested in Brady kicking off his broadcasting career this season (especially considering Fox also just lost Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos).

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