Already, there’s been plenty of dialogue out on the sports talk show circuit about Tom Brady and his future, especially if he wins his sixth Super Bowl title next Sunday against the Rams.

At age 41, would going out on top be enough of an impetus for him to retire, even though he’s still playing at an elite level?

Brady’s dad said Saturday night that he didn’t much care about whether or not his son would leave like Peyton Manning did years ago, walking off with a championship. That wasn’t his primary concern. Related Articles Patriots defense facing ultimate deep-ball test in Seahawks QB Russell Wilson

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“I want him to end it when he wants to end it. I don’t need a storybook. He’s written too many books already,” Tom Sr. said from his Northern California home. “As long as he’s healthy, that’s all I want. I would have been more than content to see him leave four or five years ago. If he wants to go another four or five years, if that makes him happy, and he’s going to get out healthy, that’s what I want. I just want him healthy.”

Right now the Patriots quarterback, who reiterated in an ESPN interview broadcast yesterday that he has no plans to retire after the Super Bowl, is healthy and is happier than he’s been in awhile. His father loved seeing the joy on his son’s face after the team beat the Chiefs, 37-31, in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl.

Brady was like a little kid jumping up into his teammates arms, squealing with pleasure. He wasn’t quite as animated the past two seasons during their playoff runs.

The Patriots might have been to the championship game last year, but there were some internal issues that served as an elephant in the room and added a layer of tension especially later in the year. During the Super Bowl run the year before that, Brady was privately dealing with his mother Galynn’s cancer battle as he navigated through the season and playoffs.

“I think he’s very happy where he’s at. And I think it shows,” said Tom Sr. “I’ve never seen him more delighted than he was than at the end of postgame last week.”

While there are some who criticized his son for skipping OTA’s at the beginning of the year, Tom’s father believes the added time off benefitted his son in the long run.

“I just think right now he’s very, very content in his life of football,” said Tom Sr. “He was able to spend that time in the offseason, which was very special. You need that. You need a little more rejuvenation than what you need when you’re younger.”

The elder Brady indicated the entire clan would be headed to Atlanta to watch No. 12 compete in his ninth Super Bowl. He acknowledged midway through the season, there were some doubts even in Tom. Sr’s household the Patriots would get back to the big game.

“I don’t think many of us thought this was going to happen. At the end of the year, we stumbled with Miami, and stumbled with Pittsburgh. There were a lot of question marks,” he said, “but here we are, it’s like Groundhog Day. It’s going to be fun.”

Maybe in the lead-up to this year’s game, the family – sans the Patriots quarterback – will once again engage in a friendly game of dodgeball. When they were all in Montana in July, Brady, wife Gisele, both parents, Tom’s siblings and their spouses, and Brady’s children all went at it, chucking balls at each other. They looked like they were having a blast.

“That’s what our family is. It’s ping pong. It’s cards, it’s racing to the top of the mountains,” he said. “It’s dodgeball or basketball. It’s just fun and it’s part of the fabric of our family.”

Would Tom Sr. miss it when his son is no longer playing? There would no longer be family outings at the NFL’s biggest game. There would no longer be Sundays watching the GOAT, doing what he does best on a football field.

“That’s a pretty good question. I will not miss the ebbs and flows of the games because they take their toll,” said Tom Sr. “I think I will miss the winning. I love the wins, I just don’t like what it takes to get there (chuckling). All of us feel it. All the fans . . . I think it’s probably amplified because we’re parents. But the bottom line is, at the end of the game, we’re exultant and exhilarated. To get to that point, it takes years off our life. I think we’re on about our 79th cat life.”

Asked if it ever surprises him, what his 41-year-old son is still able to do, the elder Brady didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“I am constantly amazed,” said Tom Sr. “He’s a pretty unique person in many parts of his life. But on the football field, he’s a magician. He’s able to enable his teammates to perform their best as well. So it’s pretty cool.”

Getting back to the initial question, Brady’s father didn’t know what the future would hold for his son, win or lose Sunday. He thought with one more year left on Tom’s deal, the answer might also involve Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft.

“It’s up to Tom, or Bill Belichick, or Robert Kraft, or whatever,” said Tom Sr. “From our standpoint, seeing him, he’s got another year with the Patriots. It’ll be interesting to see what happens then. We’re just thankful for where we are. We’re thankful for today. Whatever’s in store, is in store. We’re very thankful for everything that has occurred to this point.”

With nineteen seasons, a ninth Super Bowl appearance, and five championships already in the bank, perhaps there’s more to come.