Philip Rivers' brief return to football evidently has at least one other long-retired quarterback dreaming big.
Legendary QB Tom Brady hinted that he recently explored a return to the field, even as he holds a prominent broadcasting job with Fox Sports and plays an influential role in the Las Vegas Raiders' front office as a minority owner.
Brady already unretired once, deciding to play another season in 2022 after 40 days of retirement. He officially called it quits after the 2022 season and has spent the last two of his three post-playing seasons in the booth calling games for Fox.
Could Brady really return to the field? Here's what the future Hall of Famer said.
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Is Tom Brady returning to the NFL?
Brady told CNBC that he inquired with the NFL about a potential return to the field but said the league "didn't like that idea very much" because of his role as a Raiders minority owner.
"I actually have inquired, and they don’t like that idea very much," Brady said. "We explored a lot of different things, and I’m very happily retired. Let me just say that, too."
The NFL would likely be thrilled at the prospect of a Brady return from a marketing standpoint, but the league has remained steadfast that he would have to divest his ownership share of the Raiders to play again. At nearly 49 years old, with a high-paying broadcasting job as well, Brady doesn't appear to have an interest in doing so.
It isn't clear when Brady actually checked in with the NFL. Rivers' return nearly five full years after his last NFL game proved it can be done, but Brady would be more than five years older at the start of the 2026 than Rivers was. Brady recently participated in a Fanatics flag football game with other prominent NFL players.
If Brady is taken at his word, there isn't any chance of a return coming to fruition.
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Tom Brady NFL ownership
Brady agreed to purchase 10 percent of the Raiders from owner Mark Davis in 2023, though the deal was revised to five percent before it was approved by NFL owners in late 2024.
While Brady says he doesn't necessarily have daily duties in his role as a minority owner, he told CNBC he has a "strategic advisory role" within the Raiders' front office. GM John Spytek makes the final decisions in the front office, but reports have indicated Brady has significant influence in organizational decisions.
The Raiders went 2-15 in Brady's first full season as minority owner, so he is hoping to help turn the ship around in 2026 and beyond -- just not on the field.