Giselle must have given him an ultimatum. Tom’s such a fierce competitor and to go out like that after an MVP caliber season... Manning, Brees, and Rothlisberger all played until the wheels fell off. Never imagined that Tom wouldn’t do the same.
What kind of an ultimatum do you think it was? Football or me? Could be, but I doubt it.
My bet is that they considered all factors including Gisele's point of view and decided, all things considered, the time was right.
At 45, unfathomably wealthy, nothing really left to prove unless you have some need to show how old you can be and still play, and
healthy, don't you have to think -- how freaking lucky I am to have my health after all this? What if next year one of the inevitable hits I take is the one that punctures a lung, or shatters my shoulder, or Theisman's my shin, or concusses me into oblivion? That compared to being home with my children experiencing their childhoods in a way very few of us could. What a gift that he could pass up just to play another year of football. Yes, I think Tom ultimately was on board with this being the right decision at the right time.