NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Tom Brady does plan to retire and says the pushback is based on the timing of the news rather than the validity.
This has always seemed like the most likely option, as Brady may have wanted to wait for this news to come out or perhaps announce it himself rather than having it leaked by national reporters. Numerous sources indicate the Buccaneers have yet to hear that Brady is retiring, but both Rapoport and ESPN's Adam Schefter have now said that the 44-year-old's final NFL game is behind him. We'll wait for Brady himself to confirm in the coming days or weeks, but it seems likely that the greatest football player ever is hanging it up.