Tom Brady publicly said he plans on playing in 2018 and repeated his goal to extend his career into his mid-40s.
Brady's comments came during an appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California.
"Part of this offseason for me is certainly about still preparing for what's ahead in my next journey, my next mountain to climb with this group of teammates, but it's also [acknowledging] that a lot of people are getting the short end of the stick in my life -- certainly my wife and my kids," Brady said in an hourlong conversation with moderator Jim Gray.
"Football is year-round for me. It's a lot of thought, a lot of energy and emotion put into it, but I need to invest in them, too. My kids are 10, 8 and 5. They're not getting younger, so I need to take time so I can be available to them, too. ... I've really spent the last two or three months doing those things, and I think I'm really trying to fill my tank up so that when I do go back, I can go back and I think I'll actually be, in my mind, a better player, a better teammate, because I'll be really rejuvenated."
Asked if he is happy with the people he works with and for, Brady said, "Yeah. I would say absolutely. And in general, I'm a very happy person. I'm a very positive person. It's just my personality, I always look at things as the glass is half full. I think there are different times; when you've been on the same team for a long time, you have relationships for a long time, they ebb and flow like every relationship. But there are no people I'd rather play for or be committed to than the team I've been with for a long time, and really the fans and the community."
Asked if he feels appreciated by Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft, and if they have the appropriate gratitude for what he has achieved, Brady said, "I plead the fifth!"
Via Mike Reiss/ESPN