Tom Brady Says He 'Owes' It to His Family to Retire — But Plans to Continue Playing Until At Least 45

Tom Brady/Instagram

Tom Brady isn't quite ready to throw in the towel on his NFL career, but his family is a big factor in his retirement timeline.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, 43, opened up in a recent interview about the "sacrifice" his career has cost his wife Gisele Bündchen, their children Benjamin, 11, and Vivian, 8, and his son John "Jack" Edward, 13, who he shares with ex Bridget Moynahan.

Brady said on Wednesday's episode of SiriusXM Town Hall, hosted by Jim Gray, that he wants to play until he's 45 years old before evaluating retirement. "Things change as you get older and there's a lot of different responsibilities I have in my life," he said.

"My kids and my family is certainly very important and they made a lot of sacrifice over a long period of time to watch me play. So, you know, I owe it to them, too," the athlete said.

RELATED: Tom Brady Reacts to Being Passed Up for Another Quarterback in Free Agency: 'That Motherf-----?'

The NFL veteran was drafted in 2000 and spent 19 years with the New England Patriots before making his Buccaneers debut in 2020.

"I play because I love the game. I play because I love to compete," Brady told Gray, 61. "We shouldn't stop our life, even though we love something because it's just, someone puts an arbitrary timeline on that."

He added, "And I felt for a long time, I could play until I was 45 years old. I think I committed to say, 'Hey, I'm going to play till I'm 45.' And this year I'll be 44, which naturally takes me to the next year. I've got a two-year contract. We'll see what happens beyond that."

Retirement has been the hot topic of discussion surrounding the seven-time Super Bowl champion.

Chris Graythen/Getty Tom Brady

RELATED: Gisele Bündchen Honors 'Loving and Caring' Tom Brady for Father's Day: 'We Are So Grateful'

After he led the Buccaneers to victory at the Super Bowl in February, his wife Bündchen asked, "What more do you have to prove?"

James Corden asked Brady about that moment during an episode of The Late Late Show in late June.

"It's hard to walk away from something that you still feel like you can do and you wanna do. It's not about proving it to others what you can do, it's more about proving it to yourself," he candidly admitted. "And I still feel like even though I'll be 44 for this year, I still have a chance to still prove to myself that I can still do it at 44 because I really worked to a point where I can still do it at this age."

Gisele/Instagram Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen and family

RELATED: Tom Brady Wishes Wife Gisele Bündchen a Happy 41st Birthday: 'Hard to Imagine Loving You More'

In April, the quarterback touched on his support from Bündchen, whom he married in 2009, during an interview with Michael Strahan for Good Morning America.

"She's the one that, you know, supports the family and, at the end of the day, makes a lot of sacrifices," he said of his wife. "She brings out the best version of me."

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Brady similarly told PEOPLE back in 2018, while still playing for the New England Patriots, that he had his wife's support to continue playing.

"At the end of the day, she's been such a supportive wife, and been so supportive of my career," he said. "I think she wants me to continue to do what I love and continue taking care of myself and, you know, make sure I'm still really present for my kids when they need me and still available to everyone in the family because our kids aren't getting any younger."