Tom Brady will take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC Championship Game on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. Meanwhile, ex-teammates are speculating about whether the 44-year-old might retire after the season.

Munich – The matter is clear. Actually. Because Tom Brady’s contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is still valid for the 2022 season.

Brady has always stated that he can imagine still playing at the age of 45. He will reach that age in August. But whether he will actually fulfil his contract – he has not yet said anything concrete about that.

“TB12” is currently concentrating on the road to his next Super Bowl, on Sunday the Los Angeles Rams are the opponent in the Divisional Round.

Tom Brady: Numerous speculations

And, of course, we know the spiel about a possible retirement of the quarterback superstar by now. That’s why Brady’s departure at the start of the playoffs has once again become a topic and is part of numerous speculations.

With interesting opinions.

“ESPN pundit Seth Wickersham predicted in an article that Brady would retire after the playoffs, and Brady’s former teammate Rob Ninkovich wouldn’t be surprised if the GOAT actually hit the sack after the postseason.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Tom Brady decided to step down this offseason to do what he wants to do,” the ex-Patriots linebacker said on the “ESPN” show “Get Up!”.

Right now, Brady is in bonus time, said Ninkovich, who was Brady’s teammate with the New England Patriots for eight seasons and ended his own career in 2016.

Rob Ninkovich: “What does he still have to prove? “

“How many 44-year-old quarterbacks have we seen throw for that many yards and touchdowns? He’s going to be 45 years old in August. So what does he have left to prove to anyone at this point? What else does he have to check off his bucket list?” said Ninkovich: “When you’re satisfied with your career and everything you’ve done, you can say, ‘OK, I’m going to step down standing on my own two feet.'”

In addition to the recurring retirement speculation, there are also outright cows throwing around the idea that Brady could possibly play until he’s 50.

“If he really wants to, that’s fine. But if he doesn’t want to and decides, ‘Hey, I’ve had enough. I’ve done everything I wanted to do. What’s my legacy?’ What’s his legacy? The greatest quarterback of all time. So it wouldn’t shock me,” Ninkovich continued.

Christian Fauria already knows the press release

Neither does another ex-teammate. Christian Fauria, who played for the Patriots from 2002 to 2005, even already has the script for the press release ready to go out this offseason.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see a statement come out from Brady in April expressing his gratitude, love and appreciation for both teams he played for, all the coaches who coached him, the owners of the teams he played for, his family, his parents, his kids, his wife, everybody,” Fauria said.