Tom Brady Says Divorce from Gisele Bündchen Affected His Final NFL Season

NFL legend Tom Brady recently made a rare comment regarding his divorce from supermodel Gisele Bündchen. Brady revealed that the very public split between him and Bündchen affected his playing during his final season.

In an appearance on The Herd on Thursday, 16 January 2026, Brady opened up about his final season in the NFL after host Colin Cowherd asked him how he came to his retirement. Brady retired from the league after 23 seasons in February 2023, and his divorce from Bündchen took place in 2022. During his final season playing for the Buccaneers, it was also his first losing season with an 8-9 record.

Personal Struggles Took a Toll

'My last season was tough,' said the former NFL quarterback. 'I was going through, I had a lot of, you know, just a personal family issue. And it was a challenge and it was very...It just took a lot out of me in terms of my ability to play.'

Brady and Bündchen were married for 13 years until their divorce was finalised in 2022. The pair co-parent their two children, and Brady has a son from his previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan. Bündchen recently married Joaquim Valente in December 2025, and they welcomed their first child prior to getting married in February 2025.

Ready to Retire at 45

Brady said that he did not feel like he was going to miss out on anything in terms of football after retiring. 'I felt like this is the time. I always had a goal – 45. I was 45 years old, I wanted to spend time with my kids, I felt like, okay, now it's time for me to be at all my kids' games. They've been to enough of their dad's games.'

'I understood in my last year that I tried to put as much as I could into it,' said the former quarterback. 'I felt like I owed to my teammates and coaches to give them everything I had. I wish it could have been a little better at the end. But it was just a unique situation and a unique year for me.'

Brady notably ended his 40-day retirement to play for the Buccaneers in March 2022, one season after previously winning a Super Bowl championship with Tampa Bay in 2021.

How Tom Brady Approaches the Draft

Brady, who is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, spoke about his approach to the NFL draft on the 'Spittin' Chiclets' podcast. His comments come amidst a time where the team, along with general manager John Spytek are set to change up their roster and coach.

'You go into the NFL draft and everyone is like, "Look at this guy's skill set, he is really fast, he is really big, look at how strong his arm is. He was on his knees, and he threw the ball 70 yards." And I am like, "Okay." What does that mean?' said Brady. 'Is he smart enough to take in information, process it, and take it on the field? Has he mastered the playbook? Does he know how to study? Does he know how to learn from his mistakes?'

'Then emotionally, is he competitive every day?' Brady continued. 'Is he very vocal as a leader? Does he know how to handle adversity? Does he know how to deal with competition? The best players I have been around have been able to deal with those emotions.'