The absolute worst nightmare for any reporter is to be sure you’re right on a story, to put it out there into the universe, and then, to discover that just about everybody is pushing back on it.
This appears to be the world inhabited by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington, two longtime reliable NFL reporters, who seemed to break the story on Saturday afternoon that Tom Brady was retiring after 22 NFL seasons.
Whatever “sources” told Schefter and Darlington this may be right, but it may be a “not now” scenario… or the story is wrong altogether. Ouch. In any case, the denials came from everywhere — from other renowned reporters, from the Buccaneers, from Brady’s agent, and from Brady’s own family. From those sources, the word is clear — whatever decision Brady makes about his professional future, he hasn’t made it yet.
The best refutation came from ESPN Buccaneers reporter Jenna Laine, which created the odd situation of ESPN refuting ESPN’s own report.
Tom Brady hasn’t informed the Bucs that he’s retiring. Bruce Arians told me, “He hasn’t. Not even close to making up his mind yet. He told us.”
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) January 29, 2022
So, we’re back where we started, folks. The GOAT may play again, and he may not. We can but wait and see.
