Jonathan & Robert Kraft say Brady retiring is Tom’s decision to make

Like our good buddy and catch-phrase machine Scott Zolak theorized last week, you can pretty much bet the rent that Tom Brady isn’t hanging it up even if he wins his sixth Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night. Or if he doesn’t, for that matter. If it were any other quarterback, the John Elway Special back-to-back championships, chucking deuces and riding off into the sunset is as good as it gets. For Tom Brady, by his own math, he’s still got at least four or five more seasons for him to lay waste to the record books.

And according to Robert and Jonathan Kraft, the supposed meddlers, arm-twisters, and double-crossers in the Jimmy Garoppolo trade, Brady’s decision on when to call it a career is just that - Brady’s decision to make.

Not theirs, not Bill’s.

The Krafts sat down with NFL Network’s Andrea Kremer on Wednesday and made their feelings about having too many cooks in the kitchen pretty clear:

In case you’re stuck at work or in class and forgot your headphones or something, here’s the part of the convo you need:

Andrea Kremer: “Can you envision a scenario when you’re the one that has to tell Tom Brady ‘It’s time to retire as a Patriot’?”

Jonathan Kraft: “I think Tom Brady’s earned the right to have that to be a decision he makes when he wants to make it.”

Robert Kraft: “Our intent is we have the best people in their respective positions, and we keep them here for a very long time.”

Andrea Kremer: “As we sit here today, do you have any question that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will be back as Patriots next season?”

Robert Kraft: “I appreciate you asking that question, and I’m not going to respond to it. You’re just going to have to see for yourself.”

It’s worth noting that in that last line, Kraft clearly isn’t trying to be condescending or sarcastic, more of a “Well, we just said that’s their decision, not ours, so...”

Jonathan Kraft also confirmed that it’s Brady’s call on the Patriots’ Not Done Network on Thursday:

“What have those discussions (about Brady retiring) been like?”

Jonathan Kraft: “Well, there haven’t been any discussions! I think the question was in response to, it was asked, how do you tell Tom Brady he has to retire, and Andrea obviously has to ask that question. But I don’t think...forget Tom for a minute, I don’t think you tell any player when they have to retire. I think if you play in the National Football League, that’s a player’s decision, and a lot goes into whether or not you want to retire, and it’s personal, so it’s not just Tom-related, although Tom is obviously on his own level on so many different bases, he’s not just the greatest competitor to ever play professional sports.”

In other words, Brady’s not about to get Troy Polomalu’ed.