Tom Brady: I Still Have "More To Prove"
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady quiets retirement speculation, saying he still has "more to prove" in Instagram post
The New England Patriots quarterback will be a free agent this offseason, with their exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Tennessee Titans leading to significant questions over his future.
Brady led an anaemic offense for much of the 2019 season and struggled mightily in the 21-13 defeat to the Titans last Saturday, throwing for 209 yards, no touchdowns and an interception returned by Tennessee for a clinching touchdown.
The 42-year-old said in the aftermath of the home loss that it was "pretty unlikely" he would retire from the sport, though he intimated he would be open to playing for another team.
View this post on Instagram I just wanted to say to all of our fans, THANK YOU! After a few days of reflection, I am so grateful and humbled by the unconditional support you have shown me the past two decades. Running out of that tunnel every week is a feeling that is hard to explain. I wish every season ended in a win, but that’s not the nature of sports (or life). Nobody plays to lose. But the reward for working hard is just that, the work!! I have been blessed to find a career I love, teammates who go to battle with me, an organization that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way. Every one of us that works at Gillette Stadium strived to do their best, spent themselves at a worthy cause, and prepared to fail while daring greatly (h/t Teddy Roosevelt). And for that, we’ve been rewarded with something that the scoreboard won’t show - the satisfaction of knowing we gave everything to each other in pursuit of a common goal. That is what TEAM is all about. In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again. And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove. A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Jan 8, 2020 at 5:50am PST
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the six-time Super Bowl champion went even further in a thank you message to Patriots fans.
"After a few days of reflection, I am so grateful and humbled by the unconditional support you have shown me the past two decades," he wrote.
"Running out of that tunnel every week is a feeling that is hard to explain. I wish every season ended in a win, but that's not the nature of sports (or life). Nobody plays to lose. But the reward for working hard is just that, the work!!
"I have been blessed to find a career I love, team-mates who go to battle with me, an organisation that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way.
"Every one of us that works at Gillette Stadium strived to do their best, spent themselves at a worthy cause, and prepared to fail while daring greatly (h/t Teddy Roosevelt). And for that, we've been rewarded with something that the scoreboard won't show - the satisfaction of knowing we gave everything to each other in pursuit of a common goal. That is what TEAM is all about.
"In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You don't always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again.
"And that's right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove."
