Happy Wife, Happy Life, or whatever Giselle wants...

[bankshot1]

Ok so lets say you're towards the end of a highly successful career, are widely recognized as one of the best ever in your field, are financially set, for the next 10 lifetimes, but your chosen profession is high risk, and your brains can be scrambled at almost any time. Maybe you have 2 or 3 years at best left, and your super hot wife,

says "Tommy, I want you to give it up, think of me and the kids, find your next passion, and lets have a blast for the next 40 years".

Me, I'm thinking, maybe a compromise, "yes dear, I'd like to compete one more year and leave on my terms".

No victory tour, just play one more year, and then call it quits.

Or did Tommy just have that year?

What do you do to keep it all in balance?

Mods: I was thinking eithet BbtL or P&G, went BbtL.
.

 

[kelpapa]

He's in a position to put even more distance between himself and the other quarterbacks. For a guy with a competitive drive like he has, there's no way he retires before this season.

But for me? I'm on a beach with the family a long time ago.

 

[Papelbon's Poutine]

I didn't watch the Gisele interview, but did she express any concern or desire for him to hang em up?

 

[bakahump]

Maybe he already "asked Bill". Which is why Jimmy G is still here.

 

[PayrodsFirstClutchHit]

Add in the health concerns for his mother and I say this is the last season. I also believe the Jimmy G situation is related and Bill is in the loop.

 

[djbayko]

Add in the health concerns for his mother and I say this is the last season. I also believe the Jimmy G situation is related and Bill is in the loop.

Shut your face

 

[Hoodie Sleeves]

She's been making comments about how he should retire since she retired in '15.

 

[NavaHo]

In Tom Brady's shoes, if I was even still playing in 2014, I'd have happily given Goodell the double barrel finger salute after the Seattle Super Bowl and walked away. But that's one of the 150,000 reasons why I'm not Tom Brady.

 

[nattysez]

He'll have the most wins of any QB ever after next season. Seems like a good stat to aim for.

The other cumulative stats he could aim for are pretty far out (passing TD, pass yards), and Brees is ahead of him.

A few years ago, Mike Krukow on the Giants broadcast went on a long diatribe about a guy -- I think it was Ryan Theriot -- who decided to quit after 2012 at age 32 because no one wanted to sign him as a starter. Krukow said that if you still have something left in the tank, you're crazy not to keep playing, because if you quit when you can still play, you will at some point regret not knowing what else you could've done if you'd kept playing, and by the time you have that feeling, there'll be no way to come back. But, as others have said, what else could Brady possibly want to achieve at this point?

One other thing -- Drew Bledsoe seems to have found a very content post-football life. He's got his head on straight, started his wine business, and is still in decent shape. He seems like a guy Brady could look to as an example of someone who had a fulfilling post-football life after retiring with all his faculties intact. Unfortunately, there's Joe Montana and tons of other guys on the other side of the equation who seem mostly to fart around aimlessly in retirement when they're not having surgery for their various football-caused maladies. Brady may look at those guys and think "I want no part of that." For example, I wonder what Wes Welker or Troy Brown tell him about retirement. Maybe if Giselle convinced him that running TB12 or taking on another hobby would be fulfilling, he'd be more prepared to hang 'em up.

 

[Papelbon's Poutine]

She's been making comments about how he should retire since she retired in '15.

Link?

 

[BannedbyNYYFans.com]

Brady is not retiring next season or in the very near future. He's said that REPEATEDLY to Terry Bradshaw, Peter King and anybody else who will listen. I get that his wife isn't thrilled with him playing such a violent sport but I'm sure that's the case for 95% of NFL wives. Mrs. Drew Brees would probably prefer her husband to retire too. That doesn't mean it's gonna happen soon.

The whole purpose of his TB12 company is for him to help others reach peak performance through Guerrero's diet and exercise programs. Part of that is the ability to stay healthy and continue to compete at a high level from high school and into your later years. Continuing to play now ( and until 45 or whenever) is literally is part of post playing career plan. In his mind, his longevity proves everything that he's been preaching about regarding diet and exercise.

Edit - Grammar

 

[streeter88]

I picked completely wrong on Papi - thought he'd play at least 1 more year - but he had an obvious injury that hurt every single day. Brady's pretty healthy, seems to play with a white hot flame, and I think he's going for 7 not 6.

But, Gisele. In the long run, wives are really hard to ignore.

 

[bakahump]

The whole purpose of his TB12 company is for him to help others reach peak performance through Guerrero's diet and exercise programs.

It suddenly occured to me that this may be part of it. Going out on top will look much better for TB12 the Corporation then if he limps along a final year or 2 at 45.
Sure he can say "at 41 and 42 I was still great" but the 43-45 decline will still be in everyones (who might be a potential customer) mind.

Better to say "yea I quite at 41 but not because I couldnt still do it, I mean look at my stats that year. And I can do the same for you. I can let you play as long as you want. I did it because of my wife and family."

So it wouldnt surprise me if this "leak" by Giselle is designed. It now gives Brady a "good reason that he can share with future customers" to hang em up.

He is uber competitve, We know this. But he is also very savvy and his competitive fire might be in some ways satiated by ensuring TB12 is successful.

 

[The Big Red Kahuna]

Link?

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tom-brady-to-gisele-after-she-pleaded-with-him-to-retire-too-bad-babe/

Literally a ton of stories like this one if you took a minute.

 

[reggiecleveland]

It is hard to imagine anything but a serious injury taking him off the field. If he wins another SB he has to think he still has it, and will be back. If he is less than he wants to be and they lose he probably wants redemption.

Perhaps a Peytonesque SB win where he clearly was limping to the finish line, and no longer a very good player, would be enough for him to quit.

Perhaps his public posturing about playing multiple years is just that, but I doubt it.

 

[Reverend]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tom-brady-to-gisele-after-she-pleaded-with-him-to-retire-too-bad-babe/

Literally a ton of stories like this one if you took a minute.

It's also literally what she's being asked to speak about in the beginning of the new video.

 

[timelysarcasm]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tom-brady-to-gisele-after-she-pleaded-with-him-to-retire-too-bad-babe/

Literally a ton of stories like this one if you took a minute.

Yup.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tom-brady-gisele-asks-me-all-the-time-why-im-playing-football/

 

[BigJimEd]

So it wouldnt surprise me if this "leak" by Giselle is designed. It now gives Brady a "good reason that he can share with future customers" to hang em up.

Wow. I think you are way over analyzing this. I can't see that at all.

Why would Brady publicly state he plans to play to 45 then shortly after have his wife leak that he's gotten multiple concussions?
How is that good for business down the road?
Why wouldn't he just sidestep the issue of how long he plans to play? If he wants to retire after next year he could do that without concussion talk which has the potential to hurt business not help it.

 

[bakahump]

All speculation, but thats all we can do when we do dont know. And this is the Internet so crack pot theories are a mainstay.

My thought is maybe he has had concussions or suffers more football pain week to week then we think/know. A good Disinformation program would want to set the stage that "I Plan to play forever. I feel great". The "45" qoutes do that. If your post football life is tied to the idea that you are bulletproof you need to look that way.
Then you need a reason NOT to play that long. Just stopping would look weird. "I am worried about Tom and I want him to stop, I think he has had injuries including concussions" (Paraphrasing) by his wife does that. I agree that using "Concussion" as opposed to a word that less of a lightning rod might have not have been smart. But a concussion can be denied "I have never had to use the protocols....trust me i couldnt prepare like i do if I wasnt mentally and physically 100%" but it establishes that Giselle is worried. "Concussion" might have been used for the same reason its so scary, because its nearly impossible to prove or deny or judge severity a few mins, hours or days later. Brady can play this as "Giselle was worried, but there is nothing that shows I have suffered any kind of trauma".

Brady could then play 2017, (hopefully) go out on top and then say "while I feel great and think I could continue to 45 like I said, there are things in my life that are more important. My Family comes first.My Mom, My Wife, My kids." All perfectly valid and reasonable. Who would doubt him? Its not like he would be lying. Just using them as a convenient excuse to do what he knows he should.

Why would any of this be important? Well if he wanted TB12 to be successful he needs to be able to step away gracefully and at (or damn near) the top of his game. I think (and all this is only opinion) that a "Decline phase" does not look good for TB12 the company. While its totally understandable to decline for most people, TB12 has built a brand on the idea that they can "Cheat the calendar". Declining (even at 43+) cheapens that. Way better to go out on top with the unknowable assertion that you are still in peak condition, then Play and prove otherwise.

I add in the JG situation, which we all agree is kinda weird. (So yea I think Bill is aware). I also see this as kinda a "go for it" year. Done as with all things by BB, smartly. A balanced "go for it now" as opposed to "sell your soul/future".

A few leaves and alot of Tea....but It totally wouldnt surprise if this is his last year and that much of these "weird" comments are way more calculated then we think.

 

[dcmissle]

We don't "all agree" that the JG situation is "kinda weird" with Brady turning 40 on August 3.

 

[bakahump]

Do we agree it presents a "potentially weird" situation after this year when JG will need to be franchised while still paying Brady?
Or do we only need JG insurance for the age 40 year?

 

[dcmissle]

I don't find weird buying time to make the best decision and insurance for the 2017 season that hopefully will not be needed.

My guess is that Brady has gotten dinged as many players do and that in Giselle's untrained mind this = a concussion.

My back-up guess is that she wants Tom to retire and this was an unfortunate nudge. She is probably stunned that the League now has to run this to ground.

 

[loshjott]

2 things:

Despite what Brady says - and Alex Guerrero, and pliability and all that - Brady is not playing until he's 45. Not happening. Or at least he's not going to be starting QB for the Pats for that long. He will fall off a cliff, or retire before then. He is a human being after all.

Plus, I imagine every seemingly "healthy" NFL player has been repeatedly injured and possibly concussed more than fans know.

Brady's career will end like Elway's or Montana's in the next 2-3 yrs.

 

[dcmissle]

2 things:

Despite what Brady says - and Alex Guerrero, and pliability and all that - Brady is not playing until he's 45. Not happening. Or at least he's not going to be starting QB for the Pats for that long. He will fall off a cliff, or retire before then. He is a human being after all.

Plus, I imagine every seemingly "healthy" NFL player has been repeatedly injured and possibly concussed more than fans know.

Brady's career will end like Elway's or Montana's in the next 2-3 yrs.

Don't forget the avocados.

What I have found very weird is the inclination to give Brady the benefit of the doubt on this wish-casting .... because Tom has done things no one has ever done before.

An Elway ending would be splendid.

But one can hear this now:

"But Tom ... you said you were playing to 45!?"

"Yes, I did ... but that was then, and this is now. What I did not say -- and what I should not have had to say -- is that I'm not going to embarrass myself out there, nor will I hurt the team by insisting on my 'rightful place' when the guy behind me is more able."

 

[heavyde050]

Don't forget the avocados.

What I have found very weird is the inclination to give Brady the benefit of the doubt on this wish-casting .... because Tom has done things no one has ever done before.

An Elway ending would be splendid.

But one can hear this now:

"But Tom ... you said you were playing to 45!?"

"Yes, I did ... but that was then, and this is now. What I did not say -- and what I should not have had to say -- is that I'm not going to embarrass myself out there, nor will I hurt the team by insisting on my 'rightful place' when the guy behind me is more able."

Quick question - do you mean the guy behind is more able as in he is better than Brady or is qualified to be a starting QB in he league? I agree with the latter but I am not sure if the former will be true at the end of 2017 (or 2018 for that matter), but it should be true at some point in the next 5 years.

Edit - my bad on comprehension. You were attributing that quote to TB12.

 

[Curt S Loew]

Don't forget the avocados.

What I have found very weird is the inclination to give Brady the benefit of the doubt on this wish-casting .... because Tom has done things no one has ever done before.

An Elway ending would be splendid.

But one can hear this now:

"But Tom ... you said you were playing to 45!?"

"Yes, I did ... but that was then, and this is now. What I did not say -- and what I should not have had to say -- is that I'm not going to embarrass myself out there, nor will I hurt the team by insisting on my 'rightful place' when the guy behind me is more able."

He has said, "When I suck, I'll retire". Whether that changes or not, I guess we'll see.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Don't forget the avocados.

What I have found very weird is the inclination to give Brady the benefit of the doubt on this wish-casting .... because Tom has done things no one has ever done before.

An Elway ending would be splendid.

But one can hear this now:

"But Tom ... you said you were playing to 45!?"

"Yes, I did ... but that was then, and this is now. What I did not say -- and what I should not have had to say -- is that I'm not going to embarrass myself out there, nor will I hurt the team by insisting on my 'rightful place' when the guy behind me is more able."

I think its also possible that talking about playing until he is 45 is just part of the way he maintains his mental edge in the here and now.

"Age is bullshit, its just a number, I can fucking play until I'm 45, maybe 50, there is no way that it is slowing me down because I am the fucking best and can beat anybody."

There is nothing inconsistent about maintaining this attitude and then waking up one day when you're 41 or 42, taking in the whole picture of your life after lots of talks with your wife and kids, and deciding to hang them up.

 

[Leather]

H

A few years ago, Mike Krukow on the Giants broadcast went on a long diatribe about a guy -- I think it was Ryan Theriot -- who decided to quit after 2012 at age 32 because no one wanted to sign him as a starter. Krukow said that if you still have something left in the tank, you're crazy not to keep playing, because if you quit when you can still play, you will at some point regret not knowing what else you could've done if you'd kept playing, and by the time you have that feeling, there'll be no way to come back. But, as others have said, what else could Brady possibly want to achieve at this point?

That's a dumb take, especially if it's about Ryan Theriot, and just goes to show the unrealistic view people often have of pro athletes because they all too often play the "Well, if I were in HIS shoes, I'd do..." game.

Ryan Theriot had won back-to-back World Series championships when he (effectively) retired in 2012, and had earned about $8.5 Million in salary throughout his career. He was 32, married, with three young kids.

Anybody harshing on that guy for retiring when he did is an idiot.