Charles Krupa/AP
- Gisele Bundchen apparently told Jay Feely, a former teammate and long-time friend of Tom Brady’s, to convince Brady to retire.
- Though Gisele was “dead serious,” Feely instead told Brady to play as long as he can.
- Brady has stated that he would like to play into his mid-40s.
Tom Brady is set to play in his eighth Super Bowl, but from the sounds of it, there’s pressure on him to make it one of his last.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop, over the summer Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, vacationed with former NFL kicker Jay Feely, who was one of Brady’s teammates at Michigan.
According to Feely, Gisele spent the vacation trying to convince Feely to convince Brady, 40, to retire.
“She was dead serious,” Feely told Bishop.
This may not be such a big surprise. In an interview with CBS in 2017, Gisele said Brady has had concussions, but that they do not talk about it. Though Brady, the New England Patriots, and the NFL denied Brady suffering any concussions in 2016, it still was clear that Gisele was mindful of the dangers of her husband’s sport.
In a recent interview with the “Kirk and Callahan” radio show, Brady said his family asks him all of the time how long he plans to keep playing. Asked if he tells them to stay patient and let him play and then he will be around more, Brady said: “It’s like you have a microphone in my house. That’s a daily conversation.”
Gisele’s methods may not have worked, however. According to Bishop, Feely told Brady, “play as long as you can,” to which Brady smiled and winked.
Brady has said he would like to play into his mid-40s, and has not ruled out playing even longer than that. With the way he carved up the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship, it’s tough to imagine his retirement coming any time soon.