Tom Brady Breaks Silence on Retirement Rumors - Read Transcript From His New Podcast!

Tom Brady is speaking out for the first time in response to rumors that he is retiring from football after 22 seasons in the NFL.

Rumors spread over the weekend following a report from ESPN, but then Brady‘s agent and his father spoke out to shoot down the reports.

Now, Tom is finally speaking out and he opened up on the newest episode of his SiriusXM podcast Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.

Click inside to find out what Tom said…

Tom didn’t confirm or deny any of the rumors and basically said that he’s still weighing his options. You can read the full transcript below!

Jim Gray: “So things kind of changed from your decompression when America was told that you were retiring on Saturday afternoon. And we haven’t heard from you as to whether or not that was the case or is the case. Has anything changed with you since we last spoke on Let’s Go! regarding your retirement?”

Tom Brady: “You know, it was a good week for me and I’m just still going through the process that I said I was going through. Sometimes it takes some time to really evaluate how you feel and what you want to do and I think when the time is right I’ll be ready to make a decision one way or another just like I said last week.”

Gray: “So were you surprised when these reports came out when you haven’t made a decision that seemingly others say you have?”

Brady: “It’s always a good line that I’m responsible for what I say and do and not responsible for what others say or do. Again, I think one thing I’ve learned about sports is you control what you can control and what you can’t you leave to others. You know, everyone I know, we’re in such an era of information and people want to be in front of the news often, and I totally understand that and understand that’s the environment we’re in, but I think for me I’m just, literally it’s day to day with me. I’m just trying to do the best I can every day and evaluate things as they come and trying to make a great decision for me and my family.”

Gray: “So everyone kinda got to see a five hour obituary about yourself. You didn’t get to partake in this because you were out of the country. There were all kinds of tributes rolling in, all the news stations broke into programming and were talking about you and perhaps never throwing a football again in a way that was such past tense that one who might have just casually tuned in might have thought you were no longer with us. Does this overstep the boundaries of having the proper respect for all that you have achieved in not allowing you to be able to do this on your own timeline?”

Brady: “No, I don’t know what different intentions are and, again, it’s not for me to control those things. You know, there was some very important games going on on the weekend and I know how hard those players work on Sunday to prepare for that. You know, I was actually a little bit disappointed that that would actually play some part of what’s going on in NFL football which to me is such an amazing sport and it’s a great sport and the focus should be on those great games. You’re right, for me I was trying to enjoy a nice weekend. It didn’t quite turn that way because my phone got really busy. But, you know, that’s just part of being in the situation I’m in.”

Gray: “Do you have a timeline?”

Brady: “I don’t know, I know when the time is right, so like I’ve always said I’m very blessed to play as long as I have. As things have gone on in the later parts of my career, whether that was five years ago or even this year, you know, there’s a lot of interest in when I’m going to stop playing. And I understand that. It’s not that I don’t recognize that. It’s just when I know I’ll know and when I don’t know I don’t know, and I’m not going to race to some conclusion about that.”

Gray: “Would this perhaps be the impetus, the chip on your shoulder that you need, the thing that says, ‘Hey, screw all these people. I’m still at the top of my game. I might want to continue so I’m going to continue?’”

Brady: (laughs) “I think my motivation for playing football is to win and be successful and maybe there’s little parts of motivation that come from different places or what people may say or think, but I’m mostly motivated from inside and wanting to be the best for my teammates and my coaches and my organization. That’s kind of where my motivation’s been for a long time and at different times you use different techniques and tools to put yourself in the right frame of mind, but for me it’s just always being the best I can be and that’s how I’ve always wanted to be for my teammates.”

Gray: “So it’s fair to say when you’re ready to make an announcement, you’ll make the announcement? It won’t come from elsewhere?”

Brady: “I think I just said I’m going to take it day by day. It really is, I’ll take it by the moment and figure out when I feel really confident to allow people to, you know, I understand my decision affects a lot of people’s lives. So when that decision comes it will come.”