PHOTO: Tom Brady “I Still Have More To Prove”

Robert Alvarez

4 years ago at 10:38 am ET

Greg M. Cooper - USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady wasted no time ending retirement rumors on Wednesday, sharing a lengthy Instagram post thanking everyone who believed in him while reflecting back on the playoff loss with a rather optimistic hint at his playing future.

“In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again.
And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove.”

With that seemingly clear revelation Brady intends on playing football next year, the question now shifts from whether or not Brady retires to where will he play next year?

Brady, who turns 43 on Aug. 3, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 18. According to ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss, The Patriots can’t assign him the franchise tag, which gives Brady leverage to dictate his plans.

In the meantime, it appears football hasn’t seen the last of Tom Brady.

View this post on Instagram

I just wanted to say to all of our fans, THANK YOU! After a few days of reflection, I am so grateful and humbled by the unconditional support you have shown me the past two decades. Running out of that tunnel every week is a feeling that is hard to explain. I wish every season ended in a win, but that’s not the nature of sports (or life). Nobody plays to lose. But the reward for working hard is just that, the work!! I have been blessed to find a career I love, teammates who go to battle with me, an organization that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way. Every one of us that works at Gillette Stadium strived to do their best, spent themselves at a worthy cause, and prepared to fail while daring greatly (h/t Teddy Roosevelt). And for that, we’ve been rewarded with something that the scoreboard won’t show – the satisfaction of knowing we gave everything to each other in pursuit of a common goal. That is what TEAM is all about. In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again. And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove.

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Jan 8, 2020 at 5:50am PST

Tight end Benjamin Watson left a complementary thank you comment on the posting.

Lot of Patriots players left comments on Tom Brady’s Instagram post this morning. Ben Watson’s was particularly complimentary.

“Play as long as you desire to. This decade needs some TB records as well. Fan for life” pic.twitter.com/LEMlGbzLag

— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) January 8, 2020