Why Tom Brady Says He "Almost Retired" From Football at Age 27

While Tom Brady is in the middle of his 23rd season in the NFL, he recently shared that he nearly retired back in 2005, when he was 27, due to an injury. Find out what he said.

By Amy Lamare Nov 11, 2022 11:26 PMTags
Watch: Tom Brady Prioritizing His Kids Following Gisele Bundchen Split

Tom Brady almost called a timeout on his NFL career early.

While the 45-year-old is currently in his 23rd season of professional football, recently admitted that Tom almost called it quits nearly two decades ago over a recurring injury.

"When I was 27, I almost retired from the game of football, because of elbow pain," he said in a Nov. 10 video for his company TB12. "Now, I'm 45 years old and I'm still here. No matter the age, no matter the obstacles, it's about how you feel, about what you do."

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback revealed, early in his tenure with the New England Patriots, he had a particularly nasty case of tendonitis in his elbow. At the time, he thought he could manage it by training through the pain, only finding relief when he started working with his now partner in TB12, trainer Alex Guerrero.

This isn't the first time Brady has spoken about the nearly career-ending injury, reflecting on how he actually made the flare-up worse by trying to solve it during a Sept. 2020 appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast.

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"I would work out and I would train," he shared. "I would lift weights because everyone says ‘lift weights' and ‘condition.' That's where you're gonna be a better athlete. And it got to a point where I couldn't throw the football because my elbow would hurt all of the time."

So he turned to Guerrero for help. The trainer healed his elbow and Brady was back in the game and on his way to five more Super Bowls.

As Brady put it, "It was the first time in my life that I didn't have elbow tendonitis playing football." 

Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

The end of the 2005 football season isn't the only time the athlete has considered hanging up the cleats. In Feb. 2022, he announced his retirement from the NFL, only to change his mind a month later.

However, while Brady is content continuing his football career, his long career in the sport has given some people close to him pause. A month before he and wife Gisele Bündchenwho share son Ben, 12, and Vivian, 9,—announced their divorce after 13 years of marriage, the supermodel got candid on how she feels about football.

"This is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present," she told Elle in September. "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]."

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