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Tom Brady plans to play football in 2020.

The 42-year-old quarterback of the New England Patriots gave his strongest indication yet that he’ll be in the NFL next season with an Instagram post on Wednesday detailing his feelings about the future.

“In both life and football, failure is inevitable,” Brady wrote. “You don’t always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again. And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove.”

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I just wanted to say to all of our fans, THANK YOU! After a few days of reflection, I am so grateful and humbled by the unconditional support you have shown me the past two decades. Running out of that tunnel every week is a feeling that is hard to explain. I wish every season ended in a win, but that’s not the nature of sports (or life). Nobody plays to lose. But the reward for working hard is just that, the work!! I have been blessed to find a career I love, teammates who go to battle with me, an organization that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way. 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). 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. In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again. And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove.

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Jan 8, 2020 at 5:50am PST

Brady and the Patriots were bounced from the playoffs last week by the Tennessee Titans, who sealed the 20-13 victory with a pick-6 of Brady by his former teammate, Logan Ryan. After the game Brady sounded like he wanted to continue his career and has already repeated his statement that he believes he can play until he’s 45 years old.

Whether he can continue his 20-year run with the Patriots is another story.
Brady is scheduled to be a free agent for the first time with a deadline of March 17 for the Patriots to put a new contract in place or allow Brady to enter the open market.

Owner Robert Kraft said Monday that he “hopes and prays” Brady plays for the Patriots next season. Head coach Bill Belichick said Sunday in a season-ending press conference that he wasn’t prepared to talk about the future, including Brady, only 12 hours after the playoff loss to the Titans.

Brady, a three-time NFL MVP, and Belichick have won six Super Bowls together.

“I have been blessed to find a career I love, teammates who go to battle with me, an organization that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way,” he said. “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. 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.”

–Field Level Media