Just saw a note that Tom Brady is not going to retire if he wins another Super Bowl.  He is 43 and wants to play until 45!  That's amazing and a reminder of Nolan Ryan, who was 46 when he retired in 1993.  By the way, he was 44 when he pitched his seventh no-hitter.

Frankly, I hope everyone at the NFL office is cheering for Tom Brady to hang around a bit longer.  He may be the man who saves the NFL from its own stupidity.

You may remember how Cal Ripken saved baseball in 1995.  Back in the summer of 1994, the players and owners couldn't agree again, and baseball stopped.  I don't know if the players or owners knew they'd be canceling the 1994 World Series and risking the 1995 season as well.

The season came back in 1995, but the fans didn't.  It took a while for fans to buy tickets and watch baseball.  Many were wondering if baseball would ever come back.

Enter Cal Ripken, who took over the front pages with his consecutive game streak.  He finally caught Lou Gehrig and passed him in September.

Looking back, Ripken became the face of baseball and made the game great again, to borrow a popular phrase.

I believe that Tom Brady has the same potential as Ripken.  Brady connects with traditional fans, and that's exactly what the NFL needs.

Stick around, Brady.  The NFL needs you more than ever.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).

Image: Mayaluk via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).