The Green Bay Packers are not the only team that has had an eventful offseason. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw their starting quarterback, Tom Brady, retired at the age of 44. A few weeks later, Brady un-retired and committed to returning for at least one more season. This move prompted Bruce Arians to retire. He cited Brady’s return as a major factor. Not because he did not want to work with Brady, but he felt that his successor, Todd Bowles, would be more successful in his second chance as a NFL head coach if Tom Brady was his quarterback.
Related: Aaron Rodgers credits psychedelics for his last two MVP seasons
Earlier this week, Brady turned 45 and will be playing in his 23rd NFL season. Aaron Rodgers, of course, is returning to the Packers on a three-year $150 million contract. This contract, he he does not retire, will ensure that he will have spent 20 years with the Green Bay Packers through is age 41 season. On Brady’s birthday, Rodgers was asked if he planned on playing until he was 45 like Brady. Rodgers had a very honest answer:
Today is @TomBrady's 45th birthday.
I asked @AaronRodgers12 if he sees himself playing until that age in the @NFL.
Here is his answer. pic.twitter.com/ICemnhuQ8x
— Stephanie Sutton (@Steph__Sutton) August 3, 2022
The Hall of Fame Has a “40 and Over” Club
A visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website will reveal an exclusive “club” full of NFL players who played after they turned 40 years old. As one might expect, many of them are kickers, but there are a fair amount of quarterbacks on the list as well. Among them is Aaron Rodgers’ predecessor, Brett Favre. The Packers legend played until the age of 41. The oldest player to ever play in the NFL was kicker-quarterback George Blanda, who played for 26 years with the Bears, Oilers, and Raiders. He retired at the age of 48.
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