Sport

Tom Brady taking time away from Buccaneers to ‘deal with personal things’

Quarterback to return after team’s pre-season game against the Tennessee Titans on August 20th

In May Tom Brady signed a 10-year, $375m (€363m) contract with Fox Sports, which will start when he retires from the NFL for good. File photograph: Getty Images
Guardian sport
Thu Aug 11 2022 - 18:24

Tom Brady is taking time away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to “deal with some personal things”, according to the team’s head coach, Todd Bowles.

Bowles said the quarterback will return after the team’s pre-season game against the Tennessee Titans on August 20th. The Bucs open their regular season campaign against the Dallas Cowboys on September 11th.

“This is something we talked about before training camp started. We allotted this time because he wanted to get in and get chemistry with the guys and go through two weeks of training camp,” said Bowles on Thursday. “Knowing he wasn’t going to play the first two games, he didn’t want to take away reps from Blaine [Gabbert] and Kyle [Trask], as well as [Ryan Griffin], as far as going into these next two games.”

Multimillion-dollar deal

The 45-year-old Brady led the league in passing yards and touchdowns last season. He announced his retirement from football in February before reversing the decision shortly afterwards. In May, it was announced that Brady had signed a 10-year, $375 million (€363 million) contract with Fox Sports, which will start when he retires from the NFL for good.

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This month, the NFL suspended Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and docked the team a first-round selection in the 2023 draft for tampering, after an attempt to lure Brady to Miami.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Brady’s former team-mate at the New England Patriots, James White, announced his retirement. The 30-year-old is perhaps most well-known for his part in Super Bowl LI, when he and Brady led a remarkable comeback victory against the Atlanta Falcons. The running back’s three touchdowns in the game are a Super Bowl record.

“James defines the term consummate professional,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “His dependability, consistency, unselfishness and performance under pressure are elite. Combining great intelligence, quickness and elusiveness, James was a perfect fit for our pass offence. While soft spoken, he brought exceptional leadership and competitive toughness to the team. He was a multiyear team captain and one of the most respected, best team players I have ever coached.” — Guardian