TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht had a hunch it was coming.
It was Super Bowl Sunday last February, and he had been celebrating his birthday at home with family when he glanced down at his phone and saw a text message from quarterback Tom Brady, who had made his retirement official 12 days earlier.
"You could feel the passion, that's for sure," Licht told ESPN on Friday. "I just told [my wife] Blair, 'He's really into this game. You can tell he wishes he was playing in this game.