Tom Brady talks about bulking up and his future in football

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady addressed his contract, his new physique, and his future plans regarding his career with the media on Wednesday.

It’s sort of a summer of firsts for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady this year.

As of this writing, Brady’s contract is set to expire after this new season, with any talks of an extension reportedly stalled. That’s significant only because in two decades, Brady has never begun the regular season in the final year of a deal – as a “lame duck” quarterback, of sorts.

Granted, no one expects Brady to be going anywhere other than the Hall of Fame one day. He’s a Patriot for life – that’s the job security you earn after you lead your team to six Super Bowl titles – but still, his contract is an interesting situation to monitor, if only because both sides are in uncharted territory. No quarterback has ever played a full 16-game season at 42 years of age; that said, no quarterback has ever won six Super Bowl rings either.

For his part, Brady doesn’t seem too concerned about a contract extension.

“Have I earned it? I don’t know. That’s up for talk-show debate,” Brady joked with reporters after Wednesday’s practice, according to MassLive’s Andrew Callahan. “What do you guys think? Should we take a poll? Talk to Mr. Kraft, c’mon… No, like I said, we’ve got a great relationship. So we’ll see how it goes.”

He also took some time to address the extra muscle mass he’s added to his frame this offseason. Internationally known for his commitment to muscle lengthening, softening, pliability, and flexibility, it was somewhat surprising to hear Brady speak openly about his desire to “bulk up” like a regular run-of-the-mill gym rat.

“I wanted to get a little bigger this year and put on a few more pounds and try to absorb the hits a little bit more,” he told local reporters, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “I worked pretty hard at that.”

Finally, Brady was asked about his future, and where he’s at mentally when it comes to the remainder of his career. 2019 marks his 20th year in the NFL; he’s also due to turn 42-years-old this coming Saturday.

“Football, I love the sport. I’ve loved playing it since I was a kid. It’s hard for me to imagine doing anything else in life,” Brady said. “I love playing ball, so to still be out here at 41 — soon to be 42 — it’s a pretty great thing for me.”

That’s good news for Patriots fans everywhere. Now all that remains is for the Krafts to find a way to extend their beefed-up superstar’s contract. Once that occurs, Brady (and the Patriots as a team) should be pretty much set for the regular season, at least in terms of the business side of football operations.