Tom Brady Says Divorce From Gisele Bündchen Affected His Final NFL Season
Brady’s remarks highlight how personal upheaval can affect elite athletes, raising broader questions about player wellbeing, career longevity, and institutional support in professional sports.
Tom Brady has said that navigating his divorce while completing his final National Football League season was one of the most challenging periods of his career.
The comments relate to the 2022 NFL season, when Brady was quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the same time his marriage to Gisele Bündchen was coming to an end.
Retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen, who finalized their divorce in October 2022 after 13 years of marriage. (Photo: @gisele Instagram)
The divorce was finalized in October 2022, roughly midway through the regular season, and Brady announced his permanent retirement from professional football in February 2023.
The disclosure is significant because it provides public context for a season that attracted intense attention, both on and off the field.
Brady’s final year was marked by scrutiny over performance, leadership, and his decision to return after an earlier retirement announcement.
His comments also touch on wider public-interest issues, including how personal stress intersects with demanding professions, the pressures on aging athletes, and how leagues address mental and emotional wellbeing alongside physical performance.
How The Divorce Overlapped With Brady’s Final NFL Campaign
The timing of Brady’s divorce coincided directly with the daily demands of an NFL season. The 2022 campaign required weekly preparation, extensive travel, film study, and physical recovery, all while Brady was dealing with major changes in his family life.
The Buccaneers’ season included high expectations following previous playoff appearances, increasing the pressure on the team’s leadership.
In professional sports, personal matters often remain private, but they can still affect preparation and performance. Brady’s acknowledgment that the situation was difficult provides insight into how even veteran players are not insulated from life events.
The overlap illustrates the practical challenge of maintaining peak performance while managing legal and family transitions.
Why Brady’s Final Season Faced Unusual Pressure
Tom Brady entered the 2022 NFL season following an unprecedented career trajectory. He had announced his retirement in February 2022, then reversed that decision weeks later to return for another year.
At that point, he had already won seven Super Bowls and set numerous league passing records, achievements unmatched in NFL history.
After spending 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and won a Super Bowl in his first year with the team. That immediate success reinforced expectations that he could continue competing at an elite level, even as the league’s oldest starting quarterback.
Returning after a public retirement announcement is rare in the NFL and often brings heightened scrutiny.
Throughout the 2022 season, Brady’s performance and the Buccaneers’ results were closely analyzed, with losses or visible struggles frequently framed around age, durability, and leadership. Commentary regularly questioned whether he should have stepped away earlier.
Brady’s later remarks provide context for why the season may have felt particularly demanding. They highlight how personal circumstances can intersect with professional performance and why traditional metrics do not always capture the conditions under which athletes operate late in their careers.
Family Priorities And Mental Health Behind Brady’s Retirement
Tom Brady has consistently pointed to family responsibilities as a central factor in his decision to retire permanently. As a father of three, he has said stepping away from football allowed him to be more present in his children’s daily lives, a consideration that increasingly shapes retirement timing for veteran athletes alongside physical readiness.
His comments reflect a broader shift across professional sports, where players are more openly acknowledging the role of family life and mental wellbeing in career decisions. In earlier eras, such factors were often minimized or framed as secondary to competition.
Brady’s openness aligns with changing norms that recognize life beyond the field as part of an athlete’s overall performance and longevity.
The discussion also intersects with growing attention to mental health in elite sports.
Divorce, relocation, and career uncertainty are widely recognized stressors, and in high-pressure environments like the NFL, those pressures are intensified by physical risk and constant public scrutiny. Brady’s experience highlights why psychological wellbeing is now treated as a core component of athlete care.
The NFL and individual teams have expanded mental health and wellness programs over the past decade, though debate continues about their reach and effectiveness. High-profile disclosures help keep public focus on the need for comprehensive support systems.
What Brady’s Final Season Means For His Legacy And The Sport
A player’s final season often shapes how a career is remembered, and for Tom Brady, the 2022 campaign added context rather than redefining his legacy.
His championships, records, and longevity remain central to his career, while the circumstances of his final year provide a fuller picture of how even the most successful athletes navigate endings.
Legacy discussions traditionally focus on wins and statistics, but they increasingly include how players manage transitions out of competition.
Brady’s public reflections acknowledge both achievement and difficulty, contributing to a more complete record of his career and offering insight into the realities of late-career decision-making.
The broader implications extend beyond one player. Brady’s experience highlights why leagues and teams continue to expand support systems beyond physical training, including counseling, family services, and career transition planning.
As athletes compete longer and remain under constant public scrutiny, these considerations are becoming more prominent.
For fans and the wider public, the conversation also shapes how performance fluctuations and retirement decisions are interpreted, encouraging a more nuanced understanding of work-life balance in high-pressure professions.
Questions People Are Asking
When did Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen divorce?
They finalized their divorce in October 2022 during the NFL regular season.
How did Tom Brady’s divorce affect his final NFL season?
Brady said personal family issues related to the divorce made his final season more challenging.
When did Tom Brady retire from the NFL?
He announced his permanent retirement in February 2023.
Which team did Tom Brady play for in his final season?
Brady played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2022 NFL season.
How long was Tom Brady’s NFL career?
His NFL career lasted 23 seasons, from 2000 through 2022.
Brady’s Final Season In Broader Perspective
Tom Brady’s comments about the overlap between his divorce and his final NFL season offer added context to a year that was already under intense scrutiny. The 2022 season unfolded at a moment of significant personal change, alongside the pressures of leading a team late in a record-setting career.
That timing helps explain why the season felt different from previous years and why his decision to retire in early 2023 followed soon after. Rather than standing apart from his football career, those personal circumstances ran parallel to it.
More broadly, the episode reflects how family responsibilities and mental wellbeing can shape decisions even at the highest levels of professional sport. As careers extend and public attention increases, Brady’s experience illustrates why personal factors are now part of how performance, retirement, and long-term support are understood across elite athletics.
