One week before the Super Bowl, Tom Brady shot down a storyline that would've dominated the airwaves right up until the moment the big game kicked off. On Sunday, Brady definitively ended the idea that he could retire after Super Bowl LIII, which will be played between the Rams and Patriots next Sunday.
Take it from Brady himself: There's "zero" chance Super Bowl LIII will be his last game. (You can stream Super Bowl III right here on CBSSports.com or on the CBS Sports app.)
Asked if there’s any chance that Super Bowl LIII is his last game, Tom Brady told @JeffDarlington, “Zero.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 27, 2019
Really, why would Brady retire?
At the age of 41, one year after he won MVP, he just bested the league's likely MVP on the road to reach his third-straight Super Bowl. Even in a so-called down season, Brady completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 4,355 yards, 29 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 97.7 passer rating. He led the Patriots to playoff wins over two teams, the Chargers and Chiefs, that posted better regular-season win totals than them. Next weekend, he has a chance to capture his sixth Super Bowl and his fifth Super Bowl MVP by beating the franchise he defeated in his first-ever Super Bowl way back in February 2002.
Together, Brady and Bill Belichick have figured out the AFC to the point where going to the Super Bowl is a damn-near inevitability, which reminds me of something Brady said two years ago after capturing his fifth ring with an epic come-from-behind win over the Falcons.
"I have the answers to the test now," Brady told The Monday Morning Quarterback.
"You can't surprise me on defense. I've seen it all. I've processed 261 games, I've played them all. It's an incredibly hard sport, but because the processes are right and are in place, for anyone with experience in their job, it's not as hard as it used to be. There was a time when quarterbacking was really hard for me because you didn't know what to do. Now I really know what to do, I don't want to stop now. This is when it's really enjoyable to go out."
Why would Brady retire now?
He has his health. He's still one of the league's best quarterbacks. Come crunch time in the playoffs, he's still the league's best quarterback -- just ask a Chiefs defense that failed to stop him on three third-and-10s in overtime. He's back in the Super Bowl, and it wouldn't be at all surprising to see the Patriots in next season's Super Bowl, too.
That's why Brady isn't even entertaining the idea of retirement.
