The last two weeks will have given Tom Brady a taste of what is about to come for him, away from the football field. After announcing his retirement – this time, he insists, for good – life is going to feel very different for the 45-year-old.
A year ago, when he retired, he would have envisioned married life with his Brazilian supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen. But Brady’s backtracking drove an irreparable wedge between the two and their divorce was confirmed three months ago, during the football season.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that, retirement or not, the end of the football season gives Brady the first real chance of downtime to process the last few months. Bundchen, meanwhile, relaunched her modelling career on the beaches of Florida across the last two weeks but now the spotlight is back on Brady after his bombshell announcement.
The fortnight that has followed the Bucs losing 31-14 to the Dallas Cowboys – Brady’s last game – gives an indication of how life is now going to look; appearances on red carpets, hosting podcasts and fatherhood – he was recently seen watching his daughter Vivian take a riding lesson and has visited prospective schools for his children.
Brady hit Hollywood on Tuesday night for the premiere of 80 for Brady – a story about four friends who travel across America to see the quarterback play in the 2017 Super Bowl.
The announcement finally came this week – Tom Brady is retiring, for good this time
Hours before the announcement, Brady was at the premiere of the film ’80 for Brady’ in LA
When he retired a year ago, he would have envisioned family life with wife Gisele Bundchen but three months ago, they divorced – his return to football seemed to be a factor
Nobody knew then that Brady’s retirement announcement was coming hours later.
Perhaps not even he did – reports surfaced on Wednesday night that he had filmed his announcement video at least a day before posting it, suggesting he might have dwelled on when to go public.
Or maybe he simply didn’t want to upstage his film premiere. Speaking beforehand on his Let’s Go! podcast, Brady said of the movie: ‘It is really exciting. I’m actually flying out to LA to be at the premiere and I just want to be there to support everyone who really worked hard on it over the last couple years.
‘To see it from start to finish and the conception of it to writing the script, to editing it, getting some of these amazing women that are the actors and directors, and to be on set and have my teammates there and then to see it, it just came out awesome.
‘So I hope everyone really enjoys it and it’s really a fun, feel good movie. It’s about friendship. There’s a lot of twists and turns that take place, so I think everyone will really enjoy it.’
For Brady, it is hard to imagine his film ventures will stop at the red carpet. Now he has called it a day, the offers from the likes of Netflix and Amazon, for example, to make an in-depth documentary about his career will surely roll in.
Michael Jordan made an estimated $3million for The Last Dance, according to Forbes. You can’t imagine Brady sees any reason to settle for less.
Brady also devotes time to his Lets Go! podcast, which is a partnership with Sirius. He has the pulling power to bring the big names on board – recent guests such as Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant are proof.
Brady is good on the show, too. It feels authentic and he doesn’t avoid the key issues around him. Two weeks ago he spoke brashly about his uncertainty over his playing future.
Jim Gray, Brady’s guest, asked Brady if he had a timetable of when he’ll announce what comes next.
‘Jim, if I knew what I was going to f***ing do, I would’ve already f***ing done it. OK?,’ Brady emphatically answered. ‘I’m taking it a day at a time.’
Earlier this month, Brady’s ex-wife Bundchen relaunched her modelling career but the spotlight is now right back on Brady after his announcement this week
Brady unretired for one more season with the Bucs but has many ventures away from football
Brady has had several high-profile guests on his Let’s Go! podcast – such as Aaron Judge
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show workers at Tom Brady’s $17m property continuing to build the mega mansion located on Indian Creek Island – ‘the world’s most exclusive municipality’ – near Miami
Stunned by the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s direct response, Gray replied: ‘I sense you’re antagonized by the question,’ before nervously laughing.
‘You’re scratching…,’ Brady then said before Gray quipped: ‘It’s only the question that everybody wants to hear!’
‘You’re scratchy,’ Brady said again before restoring his cool. ‘I appreciate you asking. Thank you.’
He is also building a mansion in Miami that is said to be worth $17m. It is located on Indian Creek Island, ‘the world’s most exclusive municipality’ with just 34 properties available across 300 acres – all of which have waterfront views of Biscayne Bay.
He and Bundchen had made plans to move to the high-security enclave – dubbed Billionaire Bunker – after they purchased the $17m property in late 2020. They tore down a pre-existing 5,772-square-foot home on the lot and are erecting a state-of-the-art eco-friendly mansion in its place.
Less than half a square mile in size, the island has been a magnet for billionaires, celebrities and power couples who’ve sought it out because it its privacy and security.
Once construction is complete, Brady will be neighbors with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, hotel magnate Jeffrey Soffer and billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Brady launched a clothing brand a year ago – Forever 12 – and on Wednesday, it quickly launched merch in connection to Brady’s retirement. The ‘Finale’ Hoodie went up for $100.
He also has TB12, which is a nutrition and sportswear range he has helped design but for those who aren’t turning to Brady for protein powder and workout gear, they will find him on Subway commercials instead.
It’s one of the more surprising partnerships given Brady is so strict on what he eats. His diet avoids non-organic grass-fed dairy, refined carbohydrates, added sugars and trans and saturated fats.
Brady’s last game in the NFL was a 31-14 defeat for the Bucs against the Dallas Cowboys
His merch drive has already kicked in – fans can buy a Brady ‘finale’ hoodie for $100
Brady has appeared in a number of amusing Subway commercials in previous years
That said, Subway and Brady did a good job of acknowledging the elephant in the room. One commercial shows Brady sniffing a fresh loaf with him saying ‘so good, you can almost taste it’ before the narrator replies ‘but you don’t eat bread’.
His fee from Subway has never surfaced, but Brady also does promotion work for Hertz, Under Armour and Fanatics.
But his biggest money-spinner now he’s retired – and the one that will maintain his profile and take up most of his time – will still come from football. Brady has had 10-year, $375m deal with Fox ready to go for retirement that will see him working as an analyst.
It could even kick in soon – the Super Bowl this year is February 12 but it is as yet unknown if Brady will work on the game so soon after his retirement.
Either way, while Brady has left the field he is is clearly going nowhere out of the public eye.
After his announcement on Wednesday, Forbes revealed they estimate his worth at around $533million from his 23-year career; $333m coming from his contracts and the rest from his off-field work.
He has every reason to expect that number to grow.
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