The NFL didn’t want Tom Brady to return to football

Tom Brady showed at 48 years old during a flag football contest that he could still play in the league; in fact, according to Brady, he can still play, but the NFL didn’t want him back. "I actually have inquired, and they don't like that idea very much," Brady told CNBC, which published an interview excerpt Thursday. "So I'm going to leave it at that.

"We explored a lot of different things, and I'm very happily retired. Let me just say that, too. " Some fans called Brady out for bias because he is a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders while he was a broadcaster for Fox.

The league issued a statement saying to CNBC that there also "would be salary cap issues" if an active player owned a stake in a team. And Brady realizes that it would be a conflict of interest to come back now. "I'm a minority owner," he said.

"So when you're that, there's really no job description. I don't have really a daily role. " He still enjoyed being out there but has no plans to return.