Tom Brady has cryptically responded to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirming that the franchise will honour their former quarterback at their opening home game.
Brady, 45, retired from football on February 1 after three seasons on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won a seventh Super Bowl in his first year. The previous six all came with the Pats across his first 20 seasons in the league.
Kraft, 81, announced the plans on Thursday morning before the NFL released the full schedule for the upcoming season later that evening. The Philadelphia Eagles will visit Gillette Stadium in Week One on September 10. The Miami Dolphins also travel there eight days later to start the season.
Reacting to the news on Instagram, Brady commented underneath a post from the NFL with a series of emojis. He replied with three praying emojis interspersed with three red love heart emojis.
Kraft, in an interview with Good Morning Football , confirmed the offer to return for the opening game. “I’m happy to tell you and your audience that I invited him back to come here and be with us at the opening game and let the fans in New England thank him for the great services he gave us over 20 years.
And it will be the beginning of many celebrations to honour Tom Brady and say thank you for what he did for us, those 20 years playing for the New England Patriots.”
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The team owner also took the opportunity to wax lyrical about Brady. "It all relates to this blue square (badge) because I’ve had a lot of people like (Jon) Bon Jovi, Meek Mill, Mike Imperioli and a guy by the name of Tom Brady all wear this and spread it.
"I’m thinking that the NFL is over a century old (2023 is the 104th season), and 20 percent of those years of the NFL, the greatest player in the history of the game played right here at Foxborough."
It will not be the first time Brady has been honoured by the Patriots, either. In 2009, their Hall of Fame selection committee named him the quarterback in their 50th anniversary team.
A year later, the committee had Brady quarterbacking their all-2000s team, again bestowing that honour on him in their all-2010s team the month after Brady left the franchise for the Buccaneers. He also features on their 2001–2019 all-dynasty team that came out in the aftermath of Brady not re-signing.
Now that he is no longer active, there remains hope amongst the fanbase that the quarterback will sign a one-day contract with the team. The ceremonial contract would allow him to retire as a Patriots player.
That is how NFL legend Jerry Rice retired on the San Francisco 49ers in 2005. He re-joined the Niners, where he played 16 seasons, after playing elsewhere for his final four years in the league.
