How Old Is Tom Brady?
Tom Brady is regarded as one of the greatest football quarterbacks of all time, and his career isn’t even over yet. Ahead of his Super Bowl LIII matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, the New England Patriots quarterback has already been honored with four Super MVP awards — the most ever by a single NFL player — and he holds the record of being the oldest player to win the honor when he scored it at age 39.
Tom Brady, who was born on Aug. 3, 1977, is now 41 years old and has still not announced plans to retire. But Brady, who has in the past teased that he wants to play pro football until age 45, did give a hint that his retirement could be in the nearer future.
CBS Sports recalls that during an episode of “Tom vs. Time” that came out just before the Patriots Super Bowl LII meeting against the Philadelphia Eagles last year, Brady revealed that he told his wife, Gisele Bundchen, that he would consider retiring if he got to two more Super Bowls. With this year’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, Brady has now made it to two more Super Bowls since making the remark, so some fans think his retirement announcement could be imminent.
Of course, Tom Brady is far from the oldest starting quarterback in NFL history. In fact, he would have to play several more seasons to break that record. According to Sports Illustrated, many football fans mistakenly think George Blanda — the late Hall of Fame quarterback who played pro football for 26 seasons until retiring in 1976 at age 48 — holds the record as the oldest quarterback. But Blanda was also a kicker throughout his career and didn’t start a game as quarterback after the age of 41. Other legendary longtime players include Warren Moon, whose last start came when he was 44 years and eight days old, and Vinny Testaverde, who started for the Carolina Panthers when he was 44 years and 26 days old.
Former football pro star Steve DeBerg actually holds the record as the oldest starting quarterback in history. In October 1998, DeBerg started for the Falcons at age 44 years and 279 days old.
Even if he doesn’t retire after Super Bowl LIII, Tom Brady’s days in the NFL could be winding down before age 45. According to Boston.com, Brady said in an interview last fall that he is conscious of the fact that his kids are getting older and that he won’t get the missed time with his family back.
“When you’re 41 you think, oh man, I’ve got kids and there’s a school play,” Brady told reporter Erin Andrews. “I gotta be there for that because they’re not going to be 10 years old again. Or eight years old or five years old. I know I’m not going to play another 10 years, you know, and I think every year is just a little bit different. As you get older, there’s a lot of other things happening in your life that you’ve got to figure out how to balance.”
