Tom Brady says he ‘has ZERO regrets’ on retirement U-turn, despite Bucs’ woes and Gisele divorce

Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady insisted he has no regrets over un-retiring to return for the 2022-23 NFL season ahead of the Buccaneers’ clash against the Seahawks. 

Brady and Co. will look to continue the turnaround to their poor season in a historic National Football League game vs. the Seattle Seahawks Sunday – the very first on German soil.

The Buccaneers will have a renewed energy coming off a win against the LA Rams to snap a three-game losing streak in Week 9. 

But a 4-5 start to the season will not have been what the seven-time Super Bowl winner will have imagined when he performed a U-turn on his retirement decision earlier this year. 

However, when pressed on whether he has any second thoughts on returning to the field, Brady responded: ‘Zero, no. Definitely not.’

‘I returned because I felt like I wanted to compete and I spoke to the team about it and they were excited to have me back,’ Brady added Friday at crowded news conference at a Bayern Munich facility.

Brady and the Buccaneers have struggled this season and are currently 4-5 after Week 9

Brady has struggled through a tough 2022 amid divorce from ex-wife Gisele Bundchen (right)

‘I don’t really regret those types of things – I think when I commit to it, I mean it and I do my best and try to give everything I can to this particular opportunity.’ 

However, he did admit to frustrations at the way the Bucs were playing, stressing the important of the matchup against the Seahawks.  

‘I think the frustrating part is we just haven’t played to the way we’re capable of playing – that’s for a number of different reasons,’ Brady said. 

‘This is a very important game for us – we have a bye week after this. It gives you a chance to kind of evaluate where you’re at and I’d much rather evaluate being 5-5 than being 4-6.

‘We’ve got to just win this game and it’ll take care of that. Seattle is going to challenge us – they have very talented players, good skill players, they’re good on defense…they’re creating a lot of sacks and turnovers. It’s a very good team – it’s going to be a very tough, hard-nosed game.’ 

Brady’s struggles on the field have come amid woes in his personal life too.  In a well-publicized split, he and ex-wife Gisele Bundchen recently announced their divorce. 

The pair confirmed their split on October 28 after weeks of speculation. Brady announced that he was retiring from the NFL in February, only to turn around 40 days later and U-turn on the decision.

Many believed that Brady re-entering the NFL became a bone of contention for Bundchen. 

Brady and Bundchen confirmed their split on October 28 after weeks of speculation

Brady and Bundchen confirmed their divorce in Instagram statements in October. She said her priority had ‘always been’ the children, but said the pair had ‘grown apart’. In his statement, Brady said the decision was ‘painful and difficult’ 

It had been speculated that Brady’s decision to un-retire from the NFL had been the root of contention but a source revealed to DailyMail.com that it had not impacted the separation 

A source confirmed to DailyMail.com in late-September that their physical separation was not impacted by Brady’s move to rejoin his beloved sport. 

The Bucs star said the divorce had been a ‘difficult’ and ‘painful’ decision that the pair reached after ‘much consideration’.

Bundchen said: ‘To end a marriage is never easy… we have grown apart.’ She said she ‘wishes the best’ for Brady but confirmed the pair had ‘grown apart’.

‘I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always,’ she said.

Both said they would continue to co-parent their two children together. The couple are expected to share custody of their two children, Vivian, nine and Benjamin, 12. Tom also has a third son, 15-year-old son Jack with ex Bridget Moynahan.

Following the separation, Brady insisted his priority was continuing to be a dad, while speaking on his ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast with Jim Gray. 

‘I think there’s a lot of professionals in life that go through things that they deal with at work and they deal with at home,’ Brady said. 

Brady and Bundchen married in 2009 first in a quiet ceremony in Santa Monica, Calif., and then in Costa Rica surrounded by friends and family. She was a Victoria’s Secret bombshell and he was a star player for the New England Patriots 

The couple are expected to share custody of their two children, Vivian and Benjamin. Brady also has a third son from a previous relationship. They are shown in February 2022, after he announced he was retiring. Gisele embraced the decision – but he walked back on it a month later

‘Obviously, the good news is it’s a very amicable situation, and I’m really focused on two things: taking care of my family and certainly my children, and, secondly, doing the best job I can to win football games.’

Despite the struggles off the field, Brady will be cherishing a ‘special’ moment on it this weekend. 

Brady is going to be the first quarterback to play a regular season game in four different countries: United States, Mexico, England, and now Germany with his start Sunday. 

He is 3-0 in international games in his career, and is treasuring his experience playing these games outside the country. 

And as a veteran in now both his home country and abroad he had some advice to offer his teammates. 

The Buccaneers should have a renewed energy coming off a win against the LA Rams Sunday

Brady and the Bucs warmed up at Bayern Munich facilities after touching down in Germany 

‘I told all my teammates that – you’re not going to necessarily remember every game you play in your whole career, but these ones, you do remember. They’re very special,’ Brady said. 

‘Just to go to another place and have an experience like this…When I’m older, I’ll be thinking about practicing in that stadium right there and then going to play in Allianz Arena, which is amazing.

‘Your whole life is made of memories and experiences – to do it with the teammates and with the game that I love…football has brought me a lot of places in life and it’s brought me to Germany now – I’ve never been here before. I’m definitely coming back.’