'Even for me, that's a long time': Tom Brady hints he'd retire from the NFL before 50

TAMPA, Fla. — Playing in the NFL at 50 appears to be where Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady draws the line.

The conversation first came up in May when CBS Sports reports Bucs general manager Jason Licht said he'd happily let the G.O.A.T continue to steer the team's ship toward victory for as long as Brady can.

"I told him if he wants to play until he's 50, and he feels like he can still play, he can play until he's 50," Licht told "The Rich Eisen Show."

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But, it doesn't sound like the seven-time Super Bowl champ sees himself still hitting the field by the time he turns the big 5-0.

"50? That's a long time. Even for me, that's a long time," Brady told USA Today Sports. "I've always said 45 was the age that I wanted to reach and that was my goal. This year I'll be 44, so next year I'll be 45. I got a two-year contract."

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Brady signed his contract extension in March which puts the 43-year-old on track to meet his original estimate for how long he plans to play professionally. Under his current extension, Brady would break the record for the oldest quarterback to start in the NFL. Steve DeBerg currently holds the record at 44 years and 279 days old.

“It’s a physical sport. Just the perspective I have on that is, you never know kind of when that moment is, just because it’s a contact sport. There’s a lot of training that goes into it. It has to be 100% commitment from myself to keep doing it," Brady said earlier this year. 

During his more than two decades of playing in the NFL Brady has seen 10 Super Bowl trips, seven titles, four MVPs and the most touchdown passes in regular-season history, among others. 

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