NFL news: Tom Brady keen to enjoy coming out of retirement, 'I have the appetite to compete'

After reversing his retirement decision after just 40 days, Tom Brady is set to enjoy his 23rd season in the NFL this year.

The 44-year-old seemed ready to call time on his legendary career back in February, but he simply couldn't keep himself away from the game.

He's now back with the Buccaneers ahead of next season, where he'll try and win an eighth Super Bowl.

Brady is well aware that his career is in it's twilight years, but the California-born quarterback admitted he couldn't tame his competitive nature during retirement.

"When I kind of told the team, look, like you know guys gotta make plans without me. And then [general manager] Jason [Licht] and [former coach] Bruce [Arians] said just give it time, you know? I said, you know, I feel pretty strongly," said Brady.

"Then time went by and you just get super competitive. I think I'm part crazy. I mean, I think that's the reality.

"Forty-five years old and I'm out here with a lot of young guys that are trying to take my head off.

"I see Aaron Donald work out on my Instagram, and I'm like, damn, maybe I should've stayed retired because he's a beast. But I had the appetite to compete, and it's going to be gone soon.

"I mean, there's no doubt about it and I gotta, you know, just really appreciate the time I have left because it's not a lot."

It's likely that Brady will return to retirement at the end of the 2022 season, but he'll still have plenty of offers on the table even past his NFL years.

Fox Sports have reportedly offered him a lucrative job in broadcasting, and Brady admitted he was keen on the idea of being an analyst.

"I'm most familiar with that, just based on the fact that I've been in every production meeting for 22 years since I started playing in 2001," said Brady.

"I know what those guys are asking, I know what they're asked to do. And I think it very much feels like a team that goes on the road to prepare for a game.

"There's a lot of learning curve, obviously. It's going to be a totally new career. It's a new opportunity for me to try something that I'm going to work really hard to prepare to be as good as I could possibly can be.

"Knowing that, the day that I walk on the set for the first time won't be my finest moment. There'll be a lot of growing pains and I'll have to learn to be really good at it, but I also think there's part of it that excites me."

But while Brady has one eye on his next career choice, his top priority will be helping the Buccaneers to another Super Bowl final.

The 2021 champions start their season on September 12, when they take to the road to face the Dallas Cowboys.