(CNN) Tom Brady, arguably the greatest NFL quarterback of all time and a seven-time Super Bowl winner, said Monday on his podcast that he has made no decision yet on retiring from football.
Over the weekend, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington and The Boston Globe, had reported that Brady was retiring, citing unnamed sources.
But on Sunday, a source familiar with the situation told CNN that "Brady contacted (Tampa Bay) Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht (on Saturday) to inform him he has yet to make a final decision about his future."
ESPN first reported Brady was retiring, citing unnamed sources. The Boston Globe reported an NFL source confirmed the news.
Brady had not commented on the reports until Monday.
"You know, it's a good week for me and I'm still just going through the process that I said I was going through," he told sportscaster Jim Gray on their SiriusXM "Let's Go!" podcast. "Sometimes, it just takes some time to really evaluate how you feel and what you want to do and I think when the time's right I'll be ready to make a decision one way or the other just like I said last week."
Brady just wrapped up his 22nd season in the NFL and second with the Bucs.
When Tampa Bay, the defending Super Bowl champion, lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round on January 23, Brady said he would take the decision on his professional football future "day-by-day."
Brady said Monday it's still a day-to-day process and that he will be the one to announce his future plans when it's time.
"I understand that my decision affects a lot of people's lives so when that decision comes, it'll come," he said, adding he wasn't going to "race to some conclusion."
When asked whether the media reports would be motivation for him to return for another season, Brady chuckled and said he was motivated to win and be successful.
"And maybe there's little parts of motivation that come from different places or what people may say or think but I'm mostly motivated from inside and wanting to be the best for my teammates and my coaches and my organization," he said.
The NFL tweeted its gratitude Saturday for his accomplishments, referring to Brady as GOAT -- Greatest Of All Time -- with the hashtag #ThankYouTom and an illustration of the quarterback wearing his Super Bowl rings. Another NFL tweet read, "Nobody did it better."
Along with the league offering its best wishes, athletes from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Brooklyn Nets star James Harden tweeted goat emojis.
"Thanks for the memories, babe," former Patriots teammate Julian Edelman tweeted.
"Hell of a run!," wrote Bucs cornerback and teammate Richard Sherman. "Honor to share the field with you."
Brady's record-setting career
Brady is considered by many NFL observers to be the greatest quarterback of all time, having led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles and the Bucs to one. No quarterback has thrown for more touchdowns, more yards or won more playoff games than Brady. He has also played in and won more regular-season games in his career than any other quarterback.
Brady is a 44-year-old father of three who has been married to supermodel Gisele Bündchen since 2009. They have two children, a 12-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter. Brady has a 14-year-old son from a prior relationship with actress Bridget Moynahan.
Last Monday, Brady told the SiriusXM "Let's Go!" Podcast that Bündchen and his children would be at the heart of any choice he made.
"The biggest difference now that I'm older is I have kids now too, and I care about them a lot as well," Brady told Jim Gray.
"They've been my biggest supporters. My wife is my biggest supporter, it pains her to see me get hit out there.
"She deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad."
Taken by the Patriots with the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady wasn't meant to be the starting quarterback; the Patriots already had three-time Pro Bowl selection Drew Bledsoe. The Boston Herald reported Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said they took Brady because he was the highest-rated player still available in the sixth round.
"He's a good, tough quarterback who played at a high level of competition (at the University of Michigan),'' Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "We'll put him out there with everyone else and let him compete and see what happens.''
After Brady had a good training camp and preseason, the Patriots made the rare move of keeping him as a fourth-string quarterback.
He moved up the depth chart and in the second game of Brady's second season Bledsoe suffered a severe injury when he was slammed to the ground in a game.
When Brady took over, the Patriots were coming off a losing season and had struggled in two losses to open the 2001 season.
NFL legend Tom Brady
Tom Brady holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win in February 2021.
Brady played college football at the University of Michigan. He started for the Wolverines in his junior and senior seasons, going 20-5.
Brady grew up in San Mateo, California, and played football, basketball and baseball before joining Michigan.
Despite his successful career at Michigan, Brady was not projected to be a star in the NFL. He was the 199th player taken in the NFL Draft. Many quarterbacks were taken before him.
Brady started his career backing up Drew Bledsoe. But when Bledsoe was hurt in September 2001, Brady got his chance to shine. He took over as starter and led the Patriots all the way to the Super Bowl.
Brady loses the ball after being hit by Oakland's Charles Woodson during an NFL playoff game in January 2002. The Patriots got the ball back and went on to win the game, but the controversial play was heavily debated in the offseason. The "tuck rule" was eventually repealed in 2013.
The 2001 season culminated in a Super Bowl victory for Brady and the Patriots in February 2002. They upset the heavily favored St. Louis Rams 20-17. Brady was named Super Bowl MVP, and he became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. He was 24.
Brady and the Patriots were back in the Super Bowl in 2004, winning another title over the Carolina Panthers. They repeated the next season with a Super Bowl win over Philadelphia.
Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick celebrate after a playoff win in January 2007. The two were together for Brady's entire Patriots career.
Brady throws a pass during a game in Cincinnati in October 2007.
Brady is surrounded by the media in 2007. The Patriots went undefeated in the regular season but lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck strips the ball from Brady during the Super Bowl in February 2008.
Brady leaves the field in 2012 after another Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
Brady kisses his mother, Galynn, after the Patriots defeated Seattle for their fourth Super Bowl title in February 2015.
An opposing fan taunts Brady as he takes the field in August 2015. Brady was eventually suspended four games over the "Deflategate" controversy, which involved allegations that the Patriots purposely deflated balls to gain an advantage on offense in an AFC Championship game.
Brady runs onto the field before a game in September 2015.
Brady drops back to pass during a game against Dallas in October 2015.
Brady arrives at a federal court to appeal his suspension for "Deflategate."
Brady is tackled by Denver's Aqib Talib in the AFC Championship game in January 2016.
Brady raises the Vince Lombardi Trophy after leading the Patriots to their fifth Super Bowl victory in 2017. The Patriots were trailing 28-3 before pulling off the biggest Super Bowl comeback ever and winning in overtime.
Teammate Rob Gronkowski playfully steals Brady's jersey before a Boston Red Sox baseball game in April 2017. Brady had just had his Super Bowl jersey returned by authorities after it had been stolen from the locker room.
Brady and his wife, model Gisele Bundchen, attend the Met Gala in New York in 2018. The couple married in 2009.
Brady celebrates after an overtime win in January 2019 that put that Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Brady celebrates with his daughter, Vivian, and his wife, Gisele, after winning his sixth Super Bowl in 2019. In October 2022, Brady and Bundchen announced that they had divorced after 13 years of marriage.
Brady's last game with the Patriots was a playoff loss to Tennessee in January 2020.
Pro golfer Phil Mickelson reads a putt for Brady as they team up for a made-for-TV charity match in May 2020. Mickelson and Brady lost a close match to Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning.
Brady throws a pass during a game against Carolina in September 2020. Brady finished the regular season with 40 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions as the Buccaneers went 11-5.
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees congratulates Brady after the Buccaneers defeated Brees' Saints in an NFL playoff game in January 2021. It was the first playoff game in NFL history to feature two starting quarterbacks in their 40s. Both players occupy the top two spots for many of the league's quarterback records.
Brady celebrates with his teammates in January 2021 after Tampa Bay defeated Green Bay to win the NFC and clinch a spot in the Super Bowl.
Brady celebrates at the end of the Buccaneers' win over Kansas City in Super Bowl LV. He was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Brady throws the Vince Lombardi Trophy to teammates as they celebrate their title during a boat parade in Tampa, Florida, in February 2021.
President Joe Biden laughs at a joke made by Brady, who was visiting the White House along with his Tampa Bay teammates in July 2021. One of Brady's jokes was about those who continue to deny that Biden won the 2020 election. "Not a lot of people think that we could have won (the Super Bowl). In fact, I think about 40% of people still don't think we won. You understand that, Mr. President?" Brady said to laughter. Biden responded, "I understand that."
Brady runs off the field after the Buccaneers defeated his former team, the New England Patriots, in October 2021. It was
Brady's first game back in New England since he left the franchise in 2020.
Brady throws a pass during a playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams in January 2022. The Rams eliminated the Buccaneers 30-27.
Brady celebrates after scoring a rushing touchdown against Carolina in January 2023. The Buccaneers clinched a postseason berth — and their second straight NFC South title — with a 30-24 win.
Brady walks off the field after a playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC Wild Card game in January 2023. The Cowboys won 31-14.
From left, "
80 for Brady" director Kyle Marvin and cast members Rita Moreno, Brady, Sally Field, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda pose together at the Los Angeles premiere of the film in January 2023. The movie, which is based on a true story, follows a group of octogenarians who are hardcore Brady fans and travel to Super Bowl LI. "This could be Tom's last one; he's almost 40," Tomlin's character says in the trailer. "That's like 80 in people years."
But the young quarterback led them to 11 wins in their last 14 regular-season games and on to Super Bowl XXXVI. There the Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams on a last-second field goal after Brady completed five passes on the game-winning drive. It was the first of five times he would be selected as Most Valuable Player in the game.
The Patriots added Vince Lombardi trophies in 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
His best season might have been in 2007 when the Patriots went undefeated in the regular season as Brady threw for a then-record 50 touchdowns and completed a league-high 68.9% of his passes. But the New York Giants upset the Patriots in one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever, one of three NFL title games Brady didn't win.
Brady's last season was filled with gaudy numbers, too: 5,316 yards passing and 43 touchdowns. While Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the overwhelming favorite to win the MVP award, Brady is the likely runner-up. Whoever wins will be MVP for the fourth time in his career.
CNN's Homero De la Fuente, Kevin Dotson, Ray Sanchez and Jack Bantock contributed to this report.