“You only get one super-emotional retirement essay,” all-time great Tom Brady quipped this morning, “and I used mine up last year.” Indeed he did — in fact, exactly one year ago to the day.

This time, though, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB says the cleats will stay on the wall:

Truly grateful on this day. Thank you 🙏🏻❤️ pic.twitter.com/j2s2sezvSS

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 1, 2023

At 45, Brady was already something of a physical freak in the NFL. George Blanda played more seasons and retired at 48, but he spent some of that time as a placekicker and even a significant amount of his QB time was as a backup. Brady ran every offensive play in every game for 25 seasons, and until this past season usually competed at the top rank of QBs.

This season’s results, however, suggested that Brady should have stuck to his first impulse. Brady didn’t play poorly — we didn’t see the kind of physical dropoff that Peyton Manning exhibited in his last season, although Manning won the Super Bowl that year after sitting out a few weeks with an injury. However, he wasn’t playing at the same level. In his final game, Brady seemed slow, repeatedly throwing behind open receivers and only able to get his timing right in a third-quarter drive.

It was a bad payoff for a decision that arguably cost Brady his marriage, although as married people know, it’s never one issue or decision that breaks things.

So what’s next for Brady? He already had a deal with Fox Sports to work as a broadcast analyst, which will leave him close to the game. One has to wonder, though, whether Brady will succeed there as much as he did on the field. He’s brilliant in football and certainly smart enough, but does he have the personality and charisma in that environment to keep viewers interested? Aaron Rodgers is wild and wooly enough to be a natural in the booth when he hangs up his cleats, but Brady seems a bit buttoned-down and clinical for that kind of work.

That’s not the real question, though, is it? The real question is which team lands Brady 40 days from now, right? After all, while 2022 may not have been a Brady-esque season for the GOAT, he still performed better than many other QBs in the game. You can bet that a few teams will pay through the nose to have him in the huddle as a transitional QB and team leader. When those offers start pouring in when free agency goes into effect, just how long will Brady keep those cleats on the wall?