Tom Brady's Dad: Media To Blame That He Retired In First Place

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announced last month that he was "not going to make that competitive commitment" to football, but just 40 days later, the veteran quarterback realized his "place is still on the field and not in the stands."

Brady announced Sunday evening he is returning to the NFL, ready to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers again in 2022.

While many work to figure out why Brady announced he was stepping away from the game when he was unsure about his future, Tom Brady Sr. has some ideas of what may have happened.

Brady Sr. spoke with WHDH's Dan Hausle on Sunday night about his son’s very brief retirement.

Brady's father said his son felt “pressured by outside forces” — the media, apparently — to make a decision before he was truly ready.

“I think people kind of put him into a corner and all these rumors and things before he was ready to make a decision, and he had to say something just to get the news people off his back,” Brady Sr. said.

When ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news that Brady was retiring — days ahead of the QB's announcement — the NFL world was shocked, especially since Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians had insisted that Brady had not yet made a decision.

Brady Sr. also shared his thoughts on whether the seven-time Super Bowl champion might try to force a trade to another team.

In the 40 days Brady spent away from the sport, Arians rebuffed reports he and the QB weren't seeing eye to eye and also said he wouldn't be trading Brady either.

For now, Brady made it clear when he took to social media Sunday to say that one day he will be a spectator and not a participant in the sport, but that time isn't now.

"I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family," Brady wrote in the post. "They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG."

Larry Brown Sports reports that while many have speculated that Brady’s wife Gisele was the driving force behind his initial decision to retire, she seems all on board for his return in 2022.