Tom Brady has made one retirement decision: ‘That’s it for me’

It seems Tom Brady is going to take his time in deciding when he wants to hang up his cleats — again.

The Buccaneers quarterback, who was at the center of a dizzying retirement chapter earlier this year, was asked Monday on his SiriusXM podcast, “Let’s Go!” if he’s thought about calling it a career as speculation surrounding his future in the league continues to mount.

“Well, I think next time I decide to retire, that’s it for me, so whenever that day comes, we’ll figure it out,” Brady said.

Although the 45-year-old signal-caller said he doesn’t contemplate retirement, when Brady chooses to pull the plug on his playing career, he wants to be absolutely certain it’s time to move on.

“I think what I really realized last year was you got to be really sure to do that,” Brady said. “And for me, you know, a lot of people have kind of gone through this situation… I’m going to take my time whenever that time does come.”

A short time after Brady and the Buccaneers were eliminated from the playoffs in January, reports emerged that the seven-time Super Bowl champ was ending his prolific career after 22 seasons. In the aftermath of the retirement bombshell, however, Brady’s agent, Don Yee, expressed, “Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy.”

On Feb. 1, just days after the initial retirement reports, Brady confirmed he was ending his playing career, stating in part, “I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention.”

Brady threw another curveball 40 days later when he came out of retirement to play his 23rd season in the league and his third with the Buccaneers. But despite the uncertainty about his future — the quarterback is set to be a free agent next season — Brady is keeping his focus on the next task at hand: finishing the regular-season strong.

“I have a hugely important job the team is asking me to do and I want to go out there and I want to play my best these last two weeks of the regular season,” Brady said.

The Buccaneers (7-8) have a chance to clinch the NFC South on Sunday with a win over the Panthers (6-9). Tampa Bay will wrap up the regular season on Jan. 8 with a showdown in Atlanta against the Falcons (5-10).