Patriots Ex Tom Brady: 'I Could Play 'Til I'm 50! (But ...)

Tom Brady is 44, and turns 45 on August 3, and the former New England Patriots quarterback seems like he's going on ... some age less than that.

As he approaches his 23rd NFL season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers star seems quite aware that nobody has never played until the age of 50.

And he also seems confident he could be the first.

But ...

“It’s a great question,'' Brady said in an interview with Complex, making it clear that he believes he could succeed at the physical challenge of doing so. "There are two answers to that. ...''

One of those answers: "I do think I could play till 50,'' he said.

And the other? It is about how committed Brady is to most everything he does ... and he “knows the commitment that it takes” to keep playing that long, especially as it means a sort of "non-commitment'' to his family.''

"I don’t think I will (play to the age of 50) just because I know the commitment that it takes,'' he said. "I know the commitment that it takes for me at 44 and 45. I worked out today and it’s a big commitment and I’m away from my 14-year-old son and my 12-year-old son and my nine-year-old daughter. And they deserve my time and energy and they’re getting older.''

No NFL player has aged so gracefully and so successfully as Tom Brady, and hints that this might be his final season in uniform suggest that he might be ready to be a successful and full-time family man some time soon.