Tom Brady's Social Media Team Explains Clumsy Deleted Tweet Following Retirement Report
BOSTON (CBS) -- In the tall tale that is the Tom Brady story, the day of Jan. 29, 2022 will certainly be remembered as a weird one.
It was that day when ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported that Tom Brady was officially retiring from the NFL. The news didn't come out of nowhere -- CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reported the night before that a retirement announcement was expected to come soon -- but it was still a bit stunning to see. As we now know, it was a bit stunning for Brady to see, too, as he swears he hadn't yet made up his mind on playing or retiring when that report went public.
One of the more peculiar parts of that day came from the Twitter account for TB12 Sports, Brady's health and wellness company. The official @TB12Sports sent out a tweet congratulating Brady on his remarkable career ... only to later delete that tweet, following some pushback on the retirement reporting from Brady's agent and his father.
In a Fox Sports feature story on Brady's social media team published this week, Brady's team -- a company by the name of Shadow Lion -- explained what happened.
"The day before the 2022 NFC and AFC championships, ESPN released a report saying Brady was done," Charlotte Wilder wrote. "Brady had not informed Shadow Lion about his plans. [Gilad] Haas and [Jeff] Fine said that at the time, they didn't know whether Brady intended to play another season. They were as surprised as the public. So were the other employees at Shadow Lion, including the team that runs the TB12 brand. It reacted to the news with a tweet that was then quickly taken down. There was no media strategy planned because no one at Shadow Lion knew this news was coming and because Brady didn't confirm that he was retiring after it broke. Instead, he said he was still taking it 'day by day.' The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also said Brady hadn't informed them of a decision, and Brady's father denied the report."
Brady said in his weekly podcast on the Monday of that week that he hadn't yet made a decision, but he then announced his retirement via Instagram the following day. He has, of course, reversed course since then, and he'll be back on the field for the 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And when it does come time for his actual retirement, Brady's social media team might be as surprised as everybody else.
