Tom Brady divides fans after posting shirtless mirror selfie in his boxers to complete bet: ‘Get a job’

Tom Brady has entertained his followers by sharing a photo of himself in his underwear to complete a bet with his athleisure clothing brand.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, 45, who announced his retirement from the NFL for the second time last week, shared the photo of himself posing shirtless in brown boxers from his athleisure line Brady to Instagram and Twitter on Monday.

In the mirror selfie, Brady could be seen sitting on an unmade bed in his boxers while covering himself with one hand. The athlete appeared to be on vacation in the photo, as it was set against a tropical backdrop of palm trees and the ocean.

In the caption of the photo, the former quarterback asked whether he “did it right,” as he acknowledged that the selfie was taken to fulfill a bet.

“Did I do it right? @Edelman11 @RobGronkowski @bradybrand,” Brady wrote in the caption of his photo on Twitter, while tagging fellow former NFL players Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski.

Brady shared the photo in response to a tweet posted by Brady brand earlier in the day, in which the company had reminded the 45-year-old of his previous promise.

“Hey @TomBrady we haven’t forgotten about this,” the brand quote-tweeted a 2022 tweet from Brady, in which he’d promised to recreate photos of male models wearing boxer briefs from the brand if his tweet earned 40,000 likes.

“40k likes and I’ll recreate these photos. Unrelated but can you guys send me some more of the socks @bradybrand,” Brady wrote at the time. As of 6 February, Brady’s original tweet has been liked more than 49,000 times.

On Twitter, where the football star’s photo has been viewed more than 10 million times, Brady’s fulfilment of the promise has been met with applause and admiration from his followers.

“A+ thirst trap Tom,” one person tweeted, while another said: “Thank you, Tom. This is what I needed Monday morning.”

“This is the best beginning of a Monday I’ve ever had. Thank you @TomBrady,” someone else joked.

The brand was also appreciative of the post, with the athleisure company tweeting: “Retirement never looked so good.”

Although the photo was met with praise from the majority of Brady’s followers, others jokingly suggested that the athlete’s photo shoot was proof he should unretire again, and return to spending his time playing football.

“I think it’s time to unretire... again,” one fan wrote, while someone else said: “Get a job.”

The post also prompted references to Brady’s divorce from supermodel Gisele Bündchen, with some claiming the photo was the 45-year-old’s way of indicating he is in his “single” era.

According to one person, Brady’s photo was giving off “big divorce energy,” while another person said: “One of the most divorced men of all time.”

“The ‘divorced retiree’ aesthetic is so intriguing because it takes on so many forms… This is the most embarrassing form,” someone else claimed.

Brady and Bündchen divorced in October 2022 after 13 years of marriage. The football star previously announced his retirement from the NFL in February 2022 before walking back the decision days later. Brady revealed that he was retiring a second time, this time “for good,” on 1 February 2023.