Tom Brady is “not thinking about retirement,” wonders why everyone wants him to retire so badly

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is 40 years old in a league with players 15 years younger than him and is playing alongside the children of players that were also drafted in 2000.

And yet Brady is still playing at the highest possible level and there’s no end in sight. While everyone is wondering when Brady will retire, he doesn’t even consider the premise.

“Why does everyone want me to retire so bad?,” Brady said with a grin. “I don’t get it. I’m having fun, the team’s doing good, you know? I know I’m a bit older than most of the other guys, but I’m really enjoying it, I obviously enjoy the experience of playing in this game, it’s been a dream come true many times over.

“It takes a lot of hard work to get here and our team I think is working hard- we had a good practice today. We need a couple more good ones, we’re playing up against a good football team.

“I’m not thinking about retirement, I’m thinking about the Super Bowl and trying to win the most important game of the year and it’s going to take a lot to do it.”

Brady has plenty of reason to ignore the question of retirement as he sets the standard for quarterback play in his 40s. When including the postseason, Brady has 5,204 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions for a passer rating of 103.1 in 2017.

The Patriots franchise quarterback has leveled off his play in recent years, too, and doesn’t appear to be in decline. So he doesn’t expect the question of his retirement to be answered next season, either- although some factors might be out of his control.

“I’ve always want to play to my mid-40s, so, I mean, we’ll see,” Brady said. “Football is such a physical sport, I mean every game really could be your last game. That’s the reality of the sport. I’d love to plan for those things [injuries] and I try to work hard at the things I need to to allow my body to feel good week after week, year after year. I’ve got a good routine that’s really worked for me, especially over the past 10-12 years.

“So as long as I feel like I’m willing to make the commitment to doing those things, then I feel like my body will allow me to do that.”