Tom Brady thanked Patriots fans in a post on his social media accounts Wednesday morning and confirmed his intentions to play again in 2020.
“I just wanted to say to all of our fans, THANK YOU!” the Patriots quarterback wrote. “After a few days of reflection, I am so grateful and humbled by the unconditional support you have shown me the past two decades.”
The more significant part of the message, which appeared on Instagram and Facebook, comes later. Brady addressed his future, saying this was not a goodbye, just a see-you-later.
“In both life and football, failure is inevitable,” Brady wrote. “You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again.
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“And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove.”
Brady already had said that he was “unlikely, hopefully unlikely” to retire, in comments made after the Patriots’ season-ending loss to the Titans last Saturday. By saying he wants to get back into the arena, he reiterated that message Wednesday.
Brady, who is due to become a free agent in March, also said he felt rewarded for his efforts in 2019 even if the season ended poorly by his standards.
“Every one of us that works at Gillette Stadium strived to do their best, spent themselves at a worthy cause, and prepared to fail while daring greatly (h/t Teddy Roosevelt),” he wrote. “And for that, we’ve been rewarded with something that the scoreboard won’t show — the satisfaction of knowing we gave everything to each other in pursuit of a common goal. That is what TEAM is all about.”
Nora Princiotti can be reached at nora.princiotti@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @NoraPrinciotti.