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Tom Brady Jokes He Needs to 'Get Good' at Retiring, but Says He's 'Excited for What's Ahead'

Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepares for a game against the Arizona Cardinals
Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepares for a game against the Arizona Cardinals

Norm Hall/Getty Images

Tom Brady is poking fun at his retirement track record.

The NFL star, 45, announced he was retiring from the league "for good" on Feb. 1, which happened to mark the one-year anniversary of the first time he announced he was retiring, only to reverse his decision two months later.

On Monday's installment of his SiriusXM podcast Let's Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray, Brady opened up about life post-retirement.

"You know, I've done it once before, so I've gotta figure this out and get good at this actually," he said. "It's all pretty new."

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Still, he said he's "excited for what's ahead."

"My friend says, 'The future happens a day at a time.' And I think with any great chapter that ends, there's other great opportunities ahead," said Brady. "And I look forward to exploring a lot of other parts of life that have been put aside for a time being. I'll feel some different things I'm sure as things go along, but I'm doing great, in a great space and excited for what's ahead."

Brady, who played 22 seasons in the NFL, confessed that the idea of retirement is still settling in.

"There's a lot of emotions," added the seven-time Super Bowl champion. "You know, I think relief just because there's a little bit of a decompression/depressurization. For, you know, 32 years you've been getting ready to prepare for another season, and I think the reality of that probably hasn't even sunk in yet. So I don't know how I'll feel as those moments get closer to a degree, but I'm really happy and content with kind of where we're at."

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Also during the episode, Brady received words of support from his loved ones and a few celebrity friends as he embarks on a new journey.

His mother, Galynn Brady, simply said in part: "Tommy's career has been a really, really great story. Our family has been so blessed with his career and watching him play football and the excitement, and it's kept our family so close together. People always say, 'Oh, you must be so happy to hear that he's retiring.' You know, we are happy, but there's also a sadness that goes with it, too, because I loved watching him run on the field and his enthusiasm and yelling, 'Let's go!' "

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is set to play in the Super Bowl on Sunday, told Brady, "I just wanna say congrats on retirement. You've had a hell of a career that all of us will be chasing for a very long time. I'm happy for you, but I'm just a little bit happy to see you go, too. Congrats, man."

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For the first time, Peyton Manning shared a revelation of how Brady impacted his own career.

"I've never told anybody this, but Tom's a big reason why I decided to stay in the AFC after I left the Colts," said Manning. "I mean, I easily could have gone to a couple of NFC teams but I thought, 'No, look, I've played against Tom a bunch and the Patriots and eventually you're going to have to play them at some point. Let me at least try to earn it in the AFC, seeing them in the playoffs. I enjoyed those games. I enjoyed that rivalry. And so that was one of the reasons I decided to stay in the AFC in chapter two for me."

Pro golfer Jack Nicklaus shared a few kind words with Brady, telling the star athlete, "I've rooted for you hard all through the years. I loved your 20 years with the Patriots and your last few years with Tampa Bay and winning Super Bowls both places, and the records you've had, a record I don't think is gonna be matched. You're, in my opinion, the best of all time. And I think that's a pretty good moniker to have."

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Oprah Winfrey told Brady she can relate to his experience of letting go of something he was so passionate about.

"What I'm wishing for, praying for, hopeful for, for you, is that that meaning expands and deepens and rises in ways that you never imagined," she said, in part. "And that now that you have laid down that part of your life, that you come on up to the rising of the rest of your life in ways that excite you, in ways that are unimaginable to you, in ways that glorify your being here on earth. Blessings to you."

Announcing his retirement earlier this month, an emotional Brady said in a video, "I'm retiring. For good. I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I'd just press record, and let you guys know first."

"It won't be long-winded, you only get one super-emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year, so I...really thank you guys...so much," he continued, while choking up, "to every single one of you, for supporting me, my family, my friends, teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There's too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream."

He added, "I wouldn't change a thing. Love you all."