Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady says he plans to spend a lot of time with family to figure out his future

TAMPA, Fla. — Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady indicated Monday that family will play a substantial role in determining whether he will return to play next season. He also said that if this is it, he could walk away «proud and satisfied,» even though the Bucs lost 30-27 when they were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs Sunday by the Los Angeles Rams.

«I think as I've gotten older, I think the best part is, is football is extremely important in my life, and it means a lot to me, and I care a lot about what we're trying to accomplish as a team and I care a lot about my teammates,» Brady said on his «Let's Go!» podcast with Jim Gray. «The biggest difference now that I'm older is I have kids now, too, you know, and I care about them a lot as well. They've been my biggest supporters. My wife is my biggest supporter. It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband, and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad.

»I'm gonna spend some time with them and give them what they need, 'cause they've really been giving me what I need the last six months to do what I love to do. I said this a few years ago, it's what relationships are all about. It's not always what I want. It's what we want as a family. And I'm gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what's next."

Brady has three children. His oldest, Jack, is 14 years old and lives with his mother, actress Bridget Moynahan, in New York, and Brady sees him as much as he can. Brady's son Benjamin, 12, and daughter Vivian, 9, live with him and his wife, supermodel and philanthropist Gisele Bundchen.

While Brady expressed disappointment in being eliminated from the postseason, he said it meant