Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady of the Buccaneers hoists the Lombardi Trophy after the Super Bowl LV game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on February 7, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. Photo: VCG

"He's baaackkkk." That was the message posted by the NFL's Tampa Bay ­Buccaneers on their social media accounts after their star quarterback Tom Brady had announced his return to the sport.

Brady - who had been pictured with Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo on the sidelines of the Old Trafford pitch after watching them beat Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League on March 12 - announced his return on March 13.

"These past two months I've realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands," the American football legend posted on Twitter.

"That time will come. But it's not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I'm coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG."

It was a message that received support from others across the sports world.

Spurs striker Harry Kane, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk and Atletico Madrid player Antoine Griezmann were among those from the other football world to post in response, while the fastest man on the planet Usain Bolt echoed Brady's message of "LFG [Let's F******* Go]."

Brady's "unfinished business" sees him return to the NFL and the Buccaneers just two months after he called time on his outstanding career.

The quarterback led Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl two seasons ago but his dreams of going back to back were ended by the Los Angeles Rams earlier this year, with the Rams going on to win the Super Bowl last month.

Brady was not at fault in the Bucs falling short. At the age of 44 he led the NFL in passing yards (5,316), ­touchdowns (43), completions (485) and attempts (719) in the 2021-22 season.

Tom Brady (left) throws a pass against the Atlanta Falcons on December 20, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: VCG

This late career sojourn came after he had written his name into NFL history with the New England Patriots, where he spent 20 seasons and won the Super Bowl six times.

Now the Buccaneers can go again with Brady, who announced his ­retirement U-turn just a day before the NFL free agency period began - something the team will have to negotiate as they look to come in under the salary cap.

It is probably not something that the NFL team had planned for back on February 1 when Brady hung up his helmet.

"I have always believed the sport of football is an 'all-in' proposition - if a 100% competitive commitment isn't there, you won't succeed, and success is what I love so much about our game," Brady wrote on social media when he retired.

"There is a physical, mental, and emotional challenge EVERY single day that has allowed me to maximize my highest potential. And I have tried my very best these past 22 years. There are no shortcuts to success on the field or in life."

"This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention," he added.

Brady thanked his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen and their children, calling them his "inspiration" and "greatest achievement."

The quarterback also thanked the owners of the NFL franchise.

"To the Glazer family, thank you for taking a chance on me and supporting me.

"I know I was demanding at times, but you provided everything we needed to win, and your ownership was everything a player could ask for."

The Glazers are taking another chance on Brady, while his family will have to dust off their support for him for at least one more season.

"When I met you over 15 years ago, I didn't know the first thing about football," his wife wrote on Instagram when Brady retired. 

"But cheering for you and seeing you do what you love most made me learn about this wonderful game to the point that I seriously believed I knew more than the referees!  

"We always had a special champions playlist for every drive on our way to the game. As a family, we always prayed for you, celebrated and supported you in every game, cheered every win and suffered with every loss." 

They will hope there are a few more wins on the way for "TB12" in the coming season, where he will not be the only old-timer refusing to give up the ghost.

While Brady is back for the 23rd season of an illustrious career, last season's MVP Aaron Rodgers is also back for an 18th season.

Rodgers will once again turn out for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL next season he as good as confirmed on a podcast after their Super Bowl hopes were ended by the San Francisco 49ers - though he was keen to explain to Twitter that reports of the terms he had signed were perhaps premature.

"Hey everyone, just wanted to clear some things up; YES I will be playing with the Packers next year, however, reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate, as are the supposed terms of the contract I 'signed.' I'm very excited to be back," he wrote on Twitter.

Rodgers and Brady will remain two of the biggest names in the league when it resumes.

It's little wonder that anyone - perhaps even Brady - wanted to believe his retirement was real.

"I'm just gonna take things as they come. I think that's the best way to put it and I don't think anything, you know, you never say never," said Brady on the Let's Go podcast a week after calling time.

"I try to make the best possible decision I can in the moment, which I did this last week. And, again, I think it's not looking to reverse course, I'm definitely not looking to do that. But in the same time I think you have to be realistic that you never know what challenges there are gonna be in life."

You never know.