As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepare to take on the Dallas Cowboys in their season-opener Sunday at 8:20 pm EST, many wonder if star quarterback Tom Brady’s private life could distract him from his performance as he enters his 23rd year. Rumors abound on every sports site that Brady and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, are at odds over his decision to return to the NFL in March less than two months after officially retiring. He missed 11 days of training camp in August, an extremely unusual thing to do for such a dedicated player, and wasn’t exactly forthcoming about his absence:

Brady on his 11-day absence: “I’m 45 years old man. A lot of shit is going on”

Take that how you will. pic.twitter.com/KdDKtmiH5P

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 28, 2022

“I’ve played a lot of football in my day — a lot of practices, a lot of games, and a lot of seasons,” Brady said. “I’m ready to go.”

He didn’t explain what he was up to during that time though:

It’s all personal. You know everyone’s got different situations they’re dealing with. So, we all have really unique challenges to our life. I’m 45 years old, man. There’s a lot of s— going on. You’ve just got to try to figure out life the best you can. It’s a continuous process.

It wasn’t long ago when back in May I wrote that Brady led what appeared to be the perfect life. Arguably the greatest NFL player of all time and the seven-time Super Bowl champ had just signed a $375-million, ten-year deal for announcing duties after his football career ends. He has three kids, an uber-successful wife, multiple properties…. The list goes on and on.

But now apparently he has marital issues. The situation could have a profound impact on the season because as most husbands know, it’s hard to focus on your job when you’re in the doghouse. Entertainment Tonight breaks down the disagreement:

According to multiple reports, the pair has been having marital problems, which are said to have started after Brady made the decision to un-retire from the NFL.

While at the time, Bündchen shared nothing but support for her husband’s decision to return to the sport, per People, the 42-year-old model “wasn’t thrilled” with her husband ending his retirement from professional football after only two months.

Bündchen was said to have been “so happy” when Brady announced his retirement, and was upset when he went back on that and re-entered the world of football.

Excited, but a lot of unfinished business on the field with the @Buccaneers #LFG https://t.co/FwKlQp02Hi

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 10, 2022

DailyMail concurs. “Gisele was not happy when Tom un-retired from the NFL after such a short time,” an insider told the publication. “There is tension between them.” In May, the model revealed that the life of a superstar athlete’s spouse was no “fairy tale”:

His focus is on his career, mine is mostly on the kids. And I’m very grateful that he lets me take the reins when it comes to our family. He trusts my decisions.

But Brady has a different view, saying that as far back as 2017 she was trying to convince him to walk away from the game:

If it was up to my wife, she would have me retire today. She told me that last night three times. And I said, ‘Too bad, babe, I’m having too much fun right now.’

We’ll see if the dust-up leads to a breakup, or if they can work it all out. We’re also going to see whether Tom’s legendary focus can lead him to one more Super Bowl victory, despite the off-field distraction. Many are already predicting that this will be his last year… but I’ve been hearing that one for as long as I can remember.

Tom Brady is expected to retire after this season, per @RapSheet

Also noted that Brady's 11 days away from the Bucs happened cuz of a mid-retirement promise he made to his wife Gisele, promise they'll spent time together. The team understood it. He only missed 4 real practices pic.twitter.com/hoKqPXyzHk

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 11, 2022