TAMPA, Fla. — When Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady turned 45 on Wednesday, he joined a very exclusive club: athletes competing at the highest levels of their respective sports at age 45.
Brady has long said he’d like to play until age 45, which made his 40-day retirement at age 44 this offseason feel like — as he put it in his comeback announcement — there was some “unfinished business” to take care of. His sights are now set on chasing an eighth Super Bowl ring.
When the season begins, he will also become the oldest starting quarterback in NFL history, and that’s coming off the heels of a season when he led the NFL in passing yards (5,316 yards), completions (485) and touchdowns (43).
“This is not about me, it’s about all of the people that have supported me to get to this point and I’m very grateful,” Brady said of entering his age 45 season. “I’m just super grateful to everybody who has played an important role and you can’t take anything for granted.”
Tight end and longtime friend Rob Gronkowski, who won four Super Bowls with Brady, is one of those people. “He’s got it down, he takes care of himself better than anyone I’ve seen, and he can play forever,” Gronkowski said.”He can go as long as he wants. I think he can go ’til 50. “He feels great from it, so why stop?”
Bucs coach Todd Bowles said he isn’t sure what to give the quarterback who has everything to celebrate.
“As long as we keep him upright and he’s walking, that’s a great birthday,” Bowles joked.
Brady’s position coach said he marvels at the way Brady has survived and thrived in his Hall of Fame career.
“Just the joy he still gets out of football and the way he throws a football at 45 is unbelievable to me,” Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen said. “Every day I stand amazed. Every day I watch that thing come off his hand and I’m amazed. I’m just amazed.”
Chris Chelios — NHL
A three-time Stanley Cup Champion (Montreal Canadiens in 1985-86, 2001-02; Detroit Red Wings 2007-08) and three-time Norris Trophy winner, Chelios’ playing career spanned from 1984 to 2010. He competed in the 1984, 1998, 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics, serving as a captain in Nagano, Salt Lake City and Turin. In 2007, he became the oldest defenseman to score a short-handed goal in a playoff game against the Calgary Flames. At 45, he also became the…
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