It has been exactly 78 days since Tom Brady announced he would be retiring again. But just like last year, Brady continues to give reasons not to believe he'll be hanging up his cleats just yet.
At the eMerge Americas Tech Conference, moderator Felice Gorordo asked the former Patriots and Buccaneers quarterback whether he would return for another year in the league to play for the Dolphins.
"Oh man," Brady said. "I will say, now that I'm not affiliated with any team anymore, even though I have strong ties with a couple teams, I do have some friends on the Dolphins that I really like. I wouldn't say I necessarily root for them all the time, but I root for my friends to do well and several of them play for Miami."
While speaking in Miami, Tom Brady was asked if he is going to come out of retirement to play for the Dolphins: pic.twitter.com/LxTHjcevrm
— Brendan Kaminsky (@BKaminsky) April 20, 2023
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The NFL world continues to wait and see if Brady's retirement this time around will be the one that sticks. While he is signed to a deal to become a broadcaster with Fox starting in the fall of 2024, there has been plenty of speculation that he might come out of retirement. And with a team that reached the playoffs in 2023 with a stout roster that includes Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle at receiver, there might be some incentive for Brady to want to give one last run at winning a Super Bowl.
Brady has frustrated many NFL fans with his seeming refusal to stay committed to retirement. He announced after the 2021 season that he would be calling it a career on the field, only to announce he would be returning to play again in 2022.
And since his latest retirement, which he announced on Feb. 1, rumors have continued to swirl that he still might not be done playing in the NFL. Rich Eisen reported in March that people have said to "keep an eye on Miami," though Brady didn't take long to quash the report.
Anyone who thinks I have time to come back to the NFL has never adopted a 2 month old kitten for their daughter. https://t.co/Qzf2H4vr1j
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 7, 2023
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The Dolphins' interest in Brady has been clear for a long time. The team doesn't have a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft because of the findings of a tampering investigation into Miami's communications with both Brady and now-Broncos head coach Sean Payton while both were under contract with their former teams.
Clearly Brady must not be friends with Tua Tagovailoa, who just a day earlier admitted to considering retirement after a 2022 season that was plagued by concussions. Because if they were friends, Brady likely wouldn't entertain the possibility of coming out of retirement to take his job in Miami. Tagovailoa is under contract through 2024, with the Dolphins having exercised his fifth-year option.
