Could Tom Brady play until he is 44? Patriots are willing to give their star quarterback contract that would make him the NFL's oldest ever player

  • The Patriots 'want Tom Brady, 39, to stick around for 3-5 years after his contract'
  • That expires in 2019, meaning he could be playing until he's 44 years old
  • One more year and he'd have made his 2015 promise to be the oldest NFL QB
  • The Patriots may well trade fellow quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo instead
  • The oldest-ever QB was the AFL's George Blanda, who retired at 48 in 1976

By James Wilkinson For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:34 EST, 5 February 2017 | Updated: 16:42 EST, 5 February 2017

Tom Brady looks like he could make good on his 2015 promise to become the oldest quarterback in NFL history after the New England Patriots reportedly said they would sign him for up for five more years.

NFL reporter Ian Rapaport announced on Twitter that the Patriots 'will look to extend [Brady] next offseason. Clear indication they believe his proclamation to play into his 40s.'

He added in a second tweet that the team believes Brady, who is currently signed through to the 2019 season, could play for three-to-five more years.

Tom Brady, 39, said in 2015 that he wanted to play until he was 45 - making him the oldest NFL quarterback ever. He might be on his way to achieving that, a Patriots insider said

If all works out as planned, Brady would finish up at the New England Patriots at the age of 44. 

If he were then able to wrangle another season, he would become the oldest quarterback in NFL history - meeting the promise he made to his father in 2015.

According to a Business Insider report from the time, Brady had made the remark after his dad sent him an article about his rivalry with Peyton Manning.

The then-38-year-old replied: 'Thanks popa. I've got another seven or eight years. He has two. That's the final chapter. Game on.'

The team is so confident about Brady, Rapaport said, that they're considering trading quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo, whose contract with the Patriots expires after this season, is highly in demand, according to Business Insider.

To keep him on the Patriots would either have to bump up his salary to the level of current starting quarterbacks or give him the franchise tag for a one-year salary of $20 million. 

But neither would be appealing to a team that has traditionally been careful with the purse strings, the site says. 

Although Brady would become the oldest quarterback in NFL history if he made it to 45 years old, he wouldn't be the oldest in the game. 

That title is held by is George Blanda, who retired from the AFL's Oakland Raiders in 1976, at the age of 48.

The Patriots believe Brady could do 3-5 years after his contract expires in 2019; if he could make it to six, he'd be 45

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