Neither LeBron James Nor Tom Brady Will Leave Anytime Soon. See $121.2 Million And $75 Million

Unless you enjoy wasting your brain cells, you should cease wondering when Tom Brady is going to retire.

Or LeBron James, for that matter.

Consider this: For the first time since Forbes began listing the NFL’s highest-paid players in 2010, Brady topped the current list at $75 million. As for James, well, according to Forbes, he’s the second-highest paid athlete in the world at $121.2 million behind only Lionel Messi’s $130 million.

Neither Brady nor James will leave all that incoming money anytime soon, and now consider this: Adrenaline. Significant athletes are addicted to it, especially professional ones, and definitely those such as Brady, whose seven Super Bowl rings say he’s the greatest quarterback in NFL history. Then there is James, the most amazing player of his time while challenging the likes of Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant for all-time honors.

Tom Brady and LeBron James will never retire — not unless the injury gods say otherwise, and they would have to say so emphatically.

Take Brady, for instance. Yes, his Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been a mess this season. Yes, they’ve operated as the antithesis of those New England Patriots teams that coach Bill Belichick and Brady turned into a dynasty. Yes, these Buccaneers are nothing like their 2020 predecessors who won the Super Bowl during Brady’s first season. And, yes, Brady is 45, which is older than several NFL head coaches, which makes folks wonder if the final two regular-season games (Carolina Panthers at home and the Atlanta Falcons on the road) for this 7-8 Buccaneers team will be the last ones for Brady in his 23rd NFL season.

None of those things have Brady sprinting toward the retirement door. For one, these Buccaneers are the best of the heavily flawed teams in the NFC South and will make the playoffs by winning the division. For another, Brady is the fourth-leading passer in the league despite everything.

That’s why Brady’s answer wasn’t surprising on a recent Let’s Go! podcast after he was asked if he sees retirement nearby: “I really don’t. I think what I really realized last year was you’ve got to be really sure to do that. And for me, you know, a lot of people have kind of gone through this situation.”

Rob Gronkowski comes to mind. As Brady’s closest pal and trusted tight end, he caught more than a few clutch passes from the modern-day Joe Montana. While Gronk retired before this NFL season, he said of Brady in April during a TV interview with Jimmy Kimmel: “I believe he’ll (play) until at least 50 years old. I mean, I see his work ethic day in and day out, and it’s second to none.”

Was Gronk describing Brady or James?

See if this sounds familiar: James turned 38 Friday, and his Los Angeles Lakers have imploded since he did the most to take them to their 18th and last world championship in 2020 — yep, the same season Brady won it all with the Buccaneers before they also collapsed as a franchise.

The 14-21 Lakers entered Friday night’s game on the road against the Atlanta Hawks in 13th place out of the 15 teams in the Western Conference, and they were losers during nine of their previous 13 games. Despite a 112-98 loss Wednesday night in Miami against his old Heat team, LeBron remained LeBron. He led the Lakers in points with 27, rebounds with nine and assists with six.

Still, James heard the following after the game: To paraphrase, you’re approaching Tom Brady territory in birthday candles, and the Lakers aren’t close to resurrecting the powerhouse of Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain or Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

When will you hang up your Nikes?

“I don’t have a number,” James told reporters while explaining later that playing for a championship-caliber franchise is a must on his list of priorities. “I know as long as my mind stays in it, I can play at this level for a minute. Now, that’s up to my mind. My body is going to be OK because if my mind is into it, I will make sure my body is taken care of and I’ll continue to put in the work.”

Later, James added, “So we’ll see what happens and see how fresh my mind stays over the next couple years.”

James said “couple” as in two, and if you include the player’s option, that’s how many years he has left on his Lakers’ contract worth $97 million the rest of the way. The pursuit of that money will help keep his mind “fresh.”

So will adrenaline.

Brady would agree.