Ready to start a new chapter! Tom Brady is hopeful about what’s next in his life after hanging up his football cleats for good.
“I think for me, how it looks going forward, I get to really think about and strategize and try to plan out to the best of my ability,” the retired pro football player, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, June 1, while promoting his partnership with Hertz. “[I’m really looking forward to] finding ways to go out there and challenge myself and try to do the best I could do with these different opportunities.”
He continued: “I try to stay pretty busy but just prioritizing the things that mean the most to me ultimately is what it’s about. So, being with my kids and my family and traveling and doing some different things and experiencing that, and then staying busy with things work-wise, you know, professionally are things that I certainly enjoy.”
Brady — who shares son Jack, 15, with ex Bridget Moynahan and kids Benjamin, 13, and Vivian, 10, with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen — announced earlier this year that he was retiring after more than two decades playing in the NFL.
“I had the most amazing 23 years. It was a dream come true,” the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers athlete gushed on Thursday. “You know, I’ve never imagined playing that long and it went so fast. I mean, I think back to my first year, there was a lot of things that we did and were lucky to accomplish.”
Brady was first drafted by the New England Patriots as their quarterback in 2000, eventually earning a G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) nickname from football lovers as his career took off. The California native went on to appear in nine Super Bowl games, winning seven of them. (Brady helped the Pats take home the Lombardi Trophy six times and once for the Bucs.)
The TB12 founder — who finalized his divorce from the Brazilian supermodel, 42, in October 2022 — moved from New England to Florida in March 2020. Two years later, he initially announced his retirement, but he backtracked on his decision just six weeks later. After the 2022-2023 season concluded, Brady confirmed in February that he was retiring for good. While it was time to say goodbye to playing pro football, the quarterback teased that he will stay involved with the sport.
“I think there’s definitely parts of me that are very excited about what’s ahead and continuing to stay involved in the game of football, which has been a real love of mine for a long time since I’ve been a kid watching my idols in San Francisco win Super Bowls,” Brady told Us. “I get to be a part of football in a different way than I have been in the past. So that’s never gonna be out of my blood. I mean, it’s in there. It’s something that I just love to do, but then there’s some other things that I’m really interested too.”
The 80 for Brady actor noted that a “few other business opportunities” have since piqued his excitement, including his new Let’s Go! ad campaign with Hertz. Brady and actress Yvonne Orji teamed up for a “Hertz. Let’s Go Show” commercial, in which they filmed a fictionalized talk show in support of the company’s car selection process.
“I think they’re continuing to kind of pave the way with electric vehicles and the transformation to a more sustainable fleet and I think that was the most intriguing thing,” Brady said on Thursday of the rental car brand. “And I think that’s been a big part of the campaigns too. So, not only do they make it really easy for their customers to access their fleet of cars and to make this process of getting your cars super seamless, but they have a great selection. I’ve been a customer for a long time, so I think for me it worked out pretty, pretty great all the way around.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
