Brady rules out playing until 50, taking 'year-to-year' approach

Tom Brady is officially ruling out any possibility of playing until age 50.

"I've realized I don't have five years left," the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, who turns 45 in August, recently told Ramin Setoodeh of Variety.

Many around the NFL have speculated whether Brady could play until 50. The seven-time Super Bowl champion said in April he probably would be able to but acknowledged it'd be unlikely.

After announcing his retirement earlier this year, the legendary passer changed course and returned to the Buccaneers only 40 days later. Now he plans to evaluate his future following each season.

"I would say it's year-to-year," he said. "Could this be my last year? Absolutely. Could I change my mind? Absolutely."

Brady added: "I want to do it my way. I want to give it everything I got and see where I'm at. My body feels really good. I've had a lot of traumatic injuries over the years, but if things go really smoothly and we win, that'd be great."

The five-time Super Bowl MVP has already agreed to join FOX Sports as an NFL analyst once his playing career ends.

"Initially, I told them I didn't want to do it," Brady said of his future broadcaster role. "There was a lot of different emotions. I couldn't make the decision from the place where I needed to be. For the first time, I was a free agent in life. It's different than being a free agent in football when one of 31 teams can come after you."

Brady added that ESPN also tried to hire him "at different times."

"There were a lot of different opportunities I was approached with," he said.