NFL Legend Rubbishes Tom Brady’s Claims About Being ‘55-45’ On Returning to NFL: “Tom Brady Was 100% Wanting to Play”

3x Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe is always in his element when commenting and analyzing anything related to the NFL. Whether games or players, the former tight end has discussed them all on his show, UNDISPUTED. One player that Shannon analyzes often is the GOAT, Tom Brady.

Brady’s retirement and ‘unretirement’ earlier this year gave Sharpe even more reasons to analyze the QB. Often critical of Brady for various reasons, Sharpe recently discussed with Skip Bayless what he thinks about Tom Brady’s retirement earlier in 2022 after the Buccaneers’ season ended during the playoffs.

Did Tom Brady really want to retire?

Many thought it was the end of an era when Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL in February 2022 after 22 long seasons. It was the swansong of a figure widely considered the GOAT. But the QB announced his ‘unretirement’ just 40 days after his retirement, leaving the NFL world completely stunned.

According to Sharpe, Brady probably had his own reasons to announce his retirement, but it was definitely not something he had set his heart on. Speaking to Skip Bayless, Sharpe said, “I don’t think he was very close at all… he was trying to get a way to Miami… But Tom Brady was 100 percent wanting to play.”

Sharpe said there were reports that Brady was trying to move to Miami but did not have a concrete plan for retiring. When the Miami move didn’t work out, he opted to remain with the Buccaneers for another season.

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The former tight end said Brady was 55-45 in favor of continuing to play further. But both Sharpe and Bayless agreed the numbers were, if nothing else, downplayed. Both felt that, in his mind, Brady knew 100 percent that he would keep playing.

Would TB12 retire after 2022?

Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless feel that Brady is not yet ready to retire from playing football. When his talks at Miami fell through, Brady committed to another year at Tampa Bay before officially hanging up his boots.

Brady recently said that he came out of retirement because “we got right to free agency, and I felt some pressure to do it and talked to the team and organization, and it all worked out.” He also said that he could not commit to the matter because of his own family commitments as well, referring to his wife and children.

At this moment, it would be difficult to say that TB12 will retire at the end of the upcoming season. Brady’s passion and commitment to the sport may make it hard for him to leave just yet if Sharpe and Bayless are to be believed. It remains to be seen whether he chooses the field or the analyst’s table when the season is coming to a close.

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