Tom Brady NOT Retiring? What Do We Owe Him?

It appears as though many of us spent Saturday morning forgetting that Tom Brady isn't a soap-opera character or a cartoon. He's an actual person trying to make an enormous life decision ... and we just spent half a day ruining that.

Brady's retirement decision is, the NFL world was just reminded, not up to "sources.'' It's up to Tom Brady.

Multiple NFL insiders, led by ESPN's Adam Schefter, reported on Saturday that the legendary Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback intended to retire this offseason.

It was "official.''

But shortly after that, Brady’s long-time agent Don Yee issued a rather confusing statement in which Yee seemed to be putting a tap on the brakes of the "official'' nature of the decision.

And then came a report from the reliable reporter Mike Silver noting that Brady (apparently still on Saturday) went so far as to call Buccaneers GM Jason Licht to inform him that these announcements were premature and that he had not yet made a decision on retirement.

Confirming Tom Brady has called #Bucs GM Jason Licht to inform him he has NOT made up his mind about retiring or playing in 2022. @MikeSilver reported it first.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 29, 2022

And then one more statement coming from none other than Tom Brady Sr., the quarterback’s father, telling a media member that his 44-year-old son is not retiring at all.

JUST IN: Tom Brady Sr. tells @kron4news that his son is not retiring. Brady Sr. says an online publication started circulating an unsubstantiated rumor. However a number of NFL insiders are now reporting it. @kron4news #TomBrady #NFL
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) January 29, 2022

Brady Sr. later said, "This is conjecture ... Tommy has not made a decision ... Anybody that says he has is absolutely wrong.''

Brady, for all of his accomplishments, deserves some elbow room - not only a little time for him to make a decision that impacts his career and his family, but also a little time to make it without the foolish journalistic race to "be first.'' (Or, truth be told, to "be first'' to reiterate the original reports and to attempt to advance the ball on the news, as normal as that may be ... when, at least, the original reporting is actually accurate.)

It may remain a likelihood. It may remain a done deal, as CBS (wrongly?) reported early in the day.

But it needs to be Tom Brady's deal. Not ESPN's. Not anyone else's. Don't we owe him at least that?