The NFC emerged victorious to secure the first edition of the NFL's new Pro Bowl Games, defeating the AFC 35-33 in the final flag football contest.

In a new format, the NFL decided to scrap the traditional Pro Bowl game as the injury risk of a real football game led to a mediocre product in recent years, with players only going at half-speed.

Instead, they replaced it with a series of mini-games – including dodgeball, and a best catch contest utilising a trampoline – spread over multiple days.

The two teams competed in four events on Thursday, with the NFC only securing victory in the dodgeball event. For the AFC, Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer's 320-yard bomb won the long drive competition, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr guided them to victory in the precision passing, and the team combined to win the three-event lightning round.

That gave the AFC the lead heading into Sunday's finale, although the NFC trimmed into the margin when Detroit Lions receiver Amon Ra St. Brown won the best catch contest.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith delivered the winning touchdown pass to Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb with 12 seconds remaining to take the first of the three flag football games for the NFC, before the AFC won the next to force a decider.

In the second, Bills receiver Stefon Diggs caught the game-winning touchdown, but not before he accidentally threw an earlier interception to his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was the hero in the final game, throwing passing touchdowns to team-mate Justin Jefferson as well as San Francisco 49ers pair George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk to secure the victory.

NFC players received $84,000 each for taking part and coming away with the win, while AFC players earned $42,000.

Patrick Mahomes revealed as no surprise that he wanted to retain star wide receiver Tyreek Hill for this season, but he trusted the plan of Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach.

Hill, 28, was drafted by the Chiefs as a fifth-rounder in 2015, and he is likely on track to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame after becoming one of the most devastating offensive weapons in league history.

He made the Pro Bowl every year from 2016-2022, and this season earned his fourth First Team All-Pro selection after setting career-highs with 119 receptions and 1710 yards with the Miami Dolphins.

Veach said there were warning signs early in free agency that Hill would demand a record-breaking contract for a receiver, and he had to make the painful decision to prioritise the defensive side of the ball instead.

"It became obvious as free agency started, given the way wide receiver contracts were going up, that it was going to be tough to do both [extend Hill and address the defense]," he said. 

The Chiefs knew some tough calls were on the horizon after Mahomes signed his NFL-record 10-year, $450million deal, as his salary jumped from $8m in 2021 to $35m this season.

Hill ended up signing a four-year, $120m deal – and in a salary-capped league, something had to give.

"Everyone knew what the next two or three years would look like and how many players we'd have to potentially cut and how difficult things would be,'' he said. "We would have had a lot of expensive players.

"It's hard to be successful in this league year after year. It's hard to win games year after year. There are going to be moments where we have to step out there and do something uncomfortable. 

"No one wanted to lose Tyreek – he's a great player. But if you're going to do something, trust the process and trust how you do things and don't be afraid to commit to change a year sooner when you have more ability to potentially make those changes work better.''

Veach said his willingness to make such a franchise-defining call is attributed to his belief that the franchise can not waste any seasons with Mahomes at the helm.

"When you have Pat Mahomes, we're wired to go after it every year,'' he said.

Mahomes himself said it was no secret that he wanted to re-sign Hill and keep the band together after winning the Super Bowl in 2020, but he understood all the moving pieces.

"I wanted to keep him, for sure,'' he said. "They had a plan for it, though. 

"They told me the plan and we were going to get these draft picks. We were going to go out there and bring in some free agent receivers, and I think they executed on that.

"We know that to keep having success in this league we have to keep evolving, keep getting better. I always want to be successful this year, but at the same time, I'm here for the long haul. 

"If we're going to have a long time here, I want to have a chance to win Super Bowls every single year.''

The Chiefs' other offensive star, Travis Kelce, said he had concerns after the Hill trade, including how effective the Chiefs might be on offense and what it all might mean for him.

"Yes, that was a question,'' he said. "But once I saw how hard guys were working, paying attention to details, how Pat keeps progressing as a quarterback... Right now, we're in a good routine that we just keep getting better. 

"You could feel that from the day we started from May until now."

Mahomes is in his fifth year as a starter, and after another spectacular season he is the favourite to add a second MVP to his resume, as well as a fourth All-Pro selection, while he prepares for a chance at his second championship.

The NFC emerged victorious to secure the first edition of the NFL's new Pro Bowl Games, defeating the AFC 35-33 in the final flag football contest.

In a new format, the NFL decided to scrap the traditional Pro Bowl game as the injury risk of a real football game led to a mediocre product in recent years, with players only going at half-speed.

Instead, they replaced it with a series of mini-games – including dodgeball, and a best catch contest utilising a trampoline – spread over multiple days.

The two teams competed in four events on Thursday, with the NFC only securing victory in the dodgeball event. For the AFC, Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer's 320-yard bomb won the long drive competition, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr guided them to victory in the precision passing, and the team combined to win the three-event lightning round.

That gave the AFC the lead heading into Sunday's finale, although the NFC trimmed into the margin when Detroit Lions receiver Amon Ra St. Brown won the best catch contest.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith delivered the winning touchdown pass to Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb with 12 seconds remaining to take the first of the three flag football games for the NFC, before the AFC won the next to force a decider.

In the second, Bills receiver Stefon Diggs caught the game-winning touchdown, but not before he accidentally threw an earlier interception to his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was the hero in the final game, throwing passing touchdowns to team-mate Justin Jefferson as well as San Francisco 49ers pair George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk to secure the victory.

NFC players received $84,000 each for taking part and coming away with the win, while AFC players earned $42,000.

Aaron Rodgers was jubilant after claiming victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, as speculation over the quarterback's Green Bay Packers future heats up.

The 39-year-old, alongside partner Ben Silverman, clung on for a one-shot victory in the pro-am portion of the PGA Tour event on Sunday, finishing 26-under for the weekend.

After a difficult season that saw the Packers miss the playoffs for just the fourth time during his tenure as their starter, Rodgers was happy to have his name on the Wall of Champions.

"It's really significant," Rodgers said of his victory in California. "It's always been on my bucket list."

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen came in four-under par behind Rodgers, and joked inclement weather had helped his rival to victory amid a truncated tournament.

However, Rodgers laughed off such suggestions, adding: "Josh Allen was telling me there's going to be an asterisk by this win because there were only three rounds.

"But I think our names are going to be up there for a long time."

Rodgers' victory comes amid turmoil over his future, with the 18-season veteran seemingly poised to bring his Packers career to a close.

With the recent retirement of Tom Brady, talk continues to swirl over a potential trade for the quarterback, with multiple teams likely to be interested in a move.

Rodgers sought to shut down speculation last month, suggesting all talk over any exit was merely conjecture.

The Packers came third in the NFC North division this season, with an 8-9 losing record.

The Carolina Panthers are hiring Ejiro Evero as their new defensive coordinator following his exit from the Denver Broncos.

Earlier on Sunday, Evero was released from his post with the Broncos following Sean Payton's arrival as the franchise's head coach.

The 42-year-old has swiftly found his feet elsewhere, with Carolina confirming his appointment – where he previously interviewed for the head coaching job.

A Super Bowl winner as secondary and passing game coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams last year, Evero has impressed despite the Broncos' disappointing campaign in 2022.

The Broncos ranked seventh in the league for total defense and 14th in points allowed, an impressive feat for a franchise that finished the year with a 5-12 record.

Evero was heavily linked with a move to the Minnesota Vikings, who are also on the hunt for a defensive coordinator ahead of the 2023 season.

Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has been released as Sean Payton arrives as head coach, according to reports.

Evero, a Super Bowl winner as secondary coach and passing game coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams last year, is wanted by rival teams.

And with the arrival of former New Orleans Saints coach Payton as the successor to Nathaniel Hackett, ESPN says Evero has come to an agreement to leave the Broncos.

The 42-year-old, who previously interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Arizona Cardinals and the Indianapolis Colts, is said to be a candidate for the Minnesota Vikings' DC position.

Brian Schottenheimer has replaced Kellen Moore as the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator.

Moore left the Cowboys this week and has taken over as the OC for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dallas on Saturday confirmed that Schottenheimer will fill the vacancy and he brings 22 seasons of NFL coaching experience to the role.

The son of legendary coach Marty Schottenheimer has been offensive consultant for the Cowboys, while he has also had spells with the likes of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets.

Schottenheimer will not be taking on play-calling duties, though, as Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones revealed head coach Mike McCarthy will take care of that.

McCarthy said of Schottenheimer's appointment: "I am very happy to have Brian take on this key role with our team.

"He has been an important part of our staff already and has a great grasp of where we are and where we want to go."

Carolina Panthers running backs coach Jeff Nixon and Rams assistant head coach Thomas Brown were interviewed for the job, but Schottenheimer got the nod.

Philadelphia Eagles centre Jason Kelce says next week's Super Bowl will be more stressful for his parents than himself and brother Travis.

The pair will become the first brothers to face off in NFL's biggest match, with both aiming to land their second ring, when the Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Arizona.

Mother Donna and father Ed Kelce will be in attendance at State Farm Stadium for the family affair, and older brother Jason would rather be in his position than theirs. 

"I think it's always stressful for the people watching," he told reporters. "I think that's probably more [stressful]... not even just parents but also the coaches and fans. 

"When you don't have control on the field of what's happening, I think that's a stressful situation. 

"I feel like when you're playing, there's a sense of control in the outcome and you can have a difference in it yourself. So it's a little bit less stressful. 

"I would imagine my parents would probably be a little stressed out. I think they are every time they're watching a game."

Jason won the Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2017, while Travis – two years younger than his brother – did so with the Chiefs in 2019.

While rivals on the field, however, Jason explained the pair remain as strong as ever off it, even if the dynamic of their relationship has changed over the years.

"I grew up the older brother, so I was then much more mature, which I don't know if that's a good word to describe me, but I was more mature than him," he said.

"I think when you get to a certain point being brothers, it becomes more of a peer relationship. 

"I'm no longer telling him what to do or showing them the ropes or trying to offer guidance as an older brother. 

"Now it's more just a friend and a different type of brother, right? He does the same for me. I get advice from him now, which growing up didn't happen too often. 

"I think the dynamic has changed a little bit in that regard. We get to genuinely just enjoy each other's personalities and who we are as individuals, and I think that makes it fun."

The trophy every player in the NFL wants to lift will be hoisted in Arizona a week on Sunday, when the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

On the preceding Thursday, a host of players and coaches will receive recognition for their individual efforts at the annual NFL Honors ceremony.

The candidates for the awards are furiously debated throughout each season, though this year the field has been trimmed for each prize with the NFL releasing list of finalists for the first time.

In the case of MVP, the top two candidates are the quarterbacks facing off in the Super Bowl, with Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts also going head to head for the game's most illustrious award.

But who does Stats Perform's advanced data say should be the recipients of the prizes on offer at Symphony Hall in Phoenix? Here we name our award winners for 2022, including one not among the finalists who'll be on the red carpet next week.

MVP: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Though these are regular-season awards, Mahomes' heroics on one leg in the AFC Championship Game were the perfect illustration of why he is the most valuable player in the league.

Even when physically impaired by a sprained ankle, Mahomes can produce magical plays through the air and on the ground in the biggest moments, and this season he has elevated a supporting cast shorn of the downfield threat of Tyreek Hill.

Only Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills averaged more yards over expected in true passing situations than Mahomes' 1.66 (minimum 100 such plays). Mahomes, though, had the edge in terms of accuracy, delivering a well-thrown ball on 82.1 per cent of his pass attempts, outperforming both Allen (79.7%) and Hurts (81).

Surpassing 5,000 passing yards and 40 passing touchdowns in a single season for the second time in his career, Mahomes was the best regular-season player in the NFL in 2022, and the reality is it wasn't especially close.

Offensive Player of the Year: Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders' acquisition of Adams in a blockbuster trade with the Packers did not produce the team results they desired in 2022, but individually his debut season with Las Vegas ranked as one of the finest of his career.

Adams' 14 receiving touchdowns led the NFL and, though his 1,516 receiving yards trailed Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill, his combined open percentage across man and zone coverage of 52.18 was superior to both Jefferson and Hill.

With 10 touchdown receptions of 20 yards or more in 2022, Adams was the NFL's most explosive receiving threat in a season where he once again reaffirmed his status as one of the finest route-runners of his generation. The Raiders may want to forget this season in a hurry, but Adams' campaign was one well worth remembering.

Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs

This award will almost certainly go to Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers next week, but there's a strong case for Jones as a more impactful defender on a down-to-down basis in 2022.

Indeed, Jones' pass rush win rate of 58 per cent and his run defense win rate of 72.7 per cent outstrip those of Bosa, who finished a season in which he led the NFL in sacks (18.5) with a pass rush win rate of 51.4 per cent and 63.6 per cent run block win rate.

Like his quarterback, Jones shines when the situation is at its most pressurised, with his ability to create pass rush working on the interior and off the edge making him a ceaseless nightmare for opposing offensive lines. If the Chiefs are celebrating under confetti in Arizona next Sunday, Jones will likely have been a big reason why.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

Sample size be damned! Purdy not only kept the 49ers afloat after Jimmy Garoppolo joined Trey Lance in heading to the sideline with a serious injury, but helped the offense improve as San Francisco won all five of his regular-season starts as part of a 10-game winning streak to end the 17-game campaign.

Albeit undoubtedly aided by the cavalcade of offensive talent at San Francisco's disposal and the play-calling of head coach Kyle Shanahan — Purdy threw to an open target on 84.7 per cent of his attempts — the last pick in the 2022 draft piloted at an offense that was remarkably efficient in expected passing situations.

Purdy averaged 1.2 yards over expected in true passing situations, fifth among quarterbacks with at least 100 such plays.

Other rookies may have played well for a longer period, but in terms of level of influence on his team's performance, no first year offensive player matches Purdy, who unfortunately now faces a long recovery after tearing an elbow ligament on the first offensive series of the Niners' NFC Championship Game loss in Philadelphia.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Sauce Gardner, New York Jets

Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner backed up his ostentatious nickname by quickly establishing himself as one of the league's premier defenders and a lockdown corner at the highest level.

Gardner lost just 19 of his 92 matchups in man coverage and 24 of his 92 in zone. His combined open percentage allowed of 18.8 was bettered by only four defenders across the  entire NFL.

In addition to his remarkably impressive coverage skills, Gardner showed a knack for finding the football in the air, registering a league-leading 20 pass breakups.

If he can improve on his interception tally of two, Gardner will be in the Defensive Player of the Year discussion in the coming years.

Comeback Player of the Year: Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

From the forgotten man whose hopes of becoming a starter in the NFL looked to be over, to the most accurate quarterback in pro football.

Smith led all quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts with a well-thrown rate of 87.1 per cent, improbably guiding a Seahawks team that appeared to be rebuilding to a playoff berth.

The former New York Jet also had the best passer rating (125.8) on throws of at least 21 air yards among all signal-callers with at least 10 such attempts. Smith threw for 13 touchdowns and one interception on his 52 attempts of that distance.

Smith unexpectedly emerged as the answer at quarterback for the Seahawks in the wake of the Russell Wilson trade. With a better ecosystem around him in 2023, he could be the leading man for a true contender.

Coach of the Year: Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers

Brian Daboll and Doug Pederson deserve a great deal of credit for transforming also-rans into playoff teams in short order, while Nick Sirianni's case is an extremely compelling one after turning the Eagles into the favourite to win the Super Bowl next week.

But for a combination of overcoming adversity and leading a Super Bowl-contending team, no coach can compete with Shanahan.

Shanahan calmly navigated his team through the stormy waters of losing not one by two starting quarterbacks during the regular season, putting Purdy in a position to succeed, with the rookie's readiness and the support he received from the NFL's best defense a testament to the 49er head coach's ability to assemble a top-tier staff.

Winning 13 games, 15 when counting the pair of playoff victories, in the circumstances the 49ers faced on offense is a remarkable achievement. San Francisco finished the season first in overall Efficiency Versus Expected, doing so after being forced to turn to Purdy is a feat worthy of Coach of the Year recognition.

Sean Payton gave his first interview as head coach of the Denver Broncos on Friday, with the focus clearly on building a winning culture.

The Broncos are coming off a disappointing 5-12 season after a tumultuous campaign with first-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

They are hopeful Payton will be able to turn things around in a hurry, since he never went worse than 7-9 during his 15-year run as head coach of the New Orleans Saints, with an overall record of 152-89.

He finished his tenure in New Orleans with five consecutive winning seasons, and after a year off, Payton said he feels "recharged and challenged again".

"It's certainly exciting," he said. "I'm looking forward to the challenge, the tradition here is amazing.

"It's going to take a lot of hard work, but our plan is to win, and that's really begun today. We're in the midst of hiring staff – the process was outstanding… it's exciting, it's what I love to do.

"I think we were fortunate enough for a long period of time to [have a winning culture] in New Orleans, and I think it begins with the details – it really begins with the people.

"It's about finding not only the coaches, but all the people involved in this process to be successful. It's really an organisational goal.

"We're planning to win, but then 'here's how'. That involves a lot of details, and it involves a lot of hard work, and that's the exciting part about it.

"When you do this long enough, and all of a sudden you're away for a year, it's not like you jump straight back into it again, you actually start over again from the beginning.

"I'm on the grease board with coach's names up, and you're organising interviews, it can feel overwhelming, but I certainly feel recharged and challenged again."

In a statement, Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner said he appreciates the rare opportunity to hire such a decorated head coach.

The statement read: "Sean Payton is an outstanding leader and Super Bowl champion with a brilliant offensive mind. He shares our commitment to winning championships for Broncos Country and we're excited to welcome him as our new head coach.

"It is rare in any sport to hire a head coach with Sean's credentials and we appreciate the first-class manner in which the Saints approached this process. We also appreciated the opportunity to meet and learn from other highly qualified, outstanding coaches we interviewed.

"Our goal was to identify a strong leader for the Denver Broncos who is focused on winning, and we found him in coach Payton."

Payton will be tasked with getting production out of franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, who struggled with the worst season of his career after being acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Seattle Seahawks.

The Las Vegas Raiders have granted quarterback Derek Carr permission to speak with teams who have agreed to their trade demands.

Carr, 31, has spent his entire nine-season career with the Raiders, but he found himself benched for the final two weeks of a disappointing 6-11 campaign.

Something had to give in Vegas, and previous reports had indicated head coach Josh McDaniels would not be fired after the first season of his four-year contract, in part because the franchise can not afford another massive contract buy-out.

NBC Sports reported in November that the Raiders were still feeling the effects of their fallout with former head coach Jon Gruden, who signed a 10-year, $100million contract in 2018. He only completed three-and-a-half years before resigning when racist and misogynistic emails were unearthed, with the franchise settling the rest of his contract for an undisclosed figure.

With McDaniels sticking around, the other franchise-altering move the team can make is at the quarterback position, and to get Carr out of the way they have allowed the veteran to speak to clubs who have already met their demands for a potential trade.

Crucially, Carr's current contract includes a no-trade clause, which he said he would enforce if he deemed it necessary. This means the Raiders can not simply send him to the team with the strongest offer, as Carr will need to sign off on it.

Things could move quickly in the next 10 days, as his $40million guaranteed for this season will become triggered on February 15, or they could cut him and eat a relatively minor cap hit of $5.6m, while getting nothing in return.

Carr already bid farewell to Raiders fans in emotional social media post on January 13, making it exceedingly unlikely he remains on the roster beyond February 15.

Sean Payton has signed his contract to become the Denver Broncos' head coach until the end of the 2027 season, according to reports.

ESPN said the deal was officially signed on Friday.

Reports earlier in the week had revealed the Broncos had agreed a trade package with the New Orleans Saints for Payton, including a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Payton, who described the move as "the opportunity I was looking for", quit the Saints after the 2021 season.

But there was understandable interest at the start of this year in a coach who won the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Following interviews with a number of teams, Payton headed for Denver, whose 2022 season was underwhelming to say the least.

The Broncos traded for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and appointed Aaron Rodgers' Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as coach.

The result was a 5-12 season in which Wilson struggled badly and Hackett was eventually fired.

Payton faces a sizeable task to turn around the fortunes of the worst team in the highly competitive AFC West.

DeMeco Ryans was drafted by the Houston Texans and spent the first six seasons of his playing career clad in the club’s deep steel blue and battle red uniform.

Ryans is now the head coach of the Texans, a gig he calls his "dream job".

"It's a dream job because we can win here," Ryans told reporters Thursday. "And we're going to win here by collaborating, working together and building it the right way with the right people."

Ryans will have plenty of work to do, however, to help turn around a Houston franchise that finished the 2022 season 3-13-1 and just hired their fourth head coach in four years.

"This is a young team; we were on the cusp," he said. "We got to add some pieces to what we're doing here, but I'm so excited to get started and get to work with the young guys, and to build a winning program here with the Texans – I'm fired up.

"The excitement is real, and I can't wait to get to work, to get to coaching."

Ryans' connections to the NFL’s youngest franchise run deep.

The Texans selected Ryans in the second round – 33rd overall – of the 2006 draft, and the Alabama product made an immediate impact.

He was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year after amassing 126 solo tackles, still a franchise record. Ryans made two Pro Bowl appearances with the Texans and was involved in many milestones as the club matured from their 2002 expansion roots.

Ryans was there for the club's first winning season, their first playoff appearance and their first postseason win. Now he will try to lead Houston back to the playoffs after the team was a combined 11-38-1 over the past three seasons.

As evidence of Ryans' connection to the Texans, Thursday’s press conference was attended by several of his former teammates, including former Texans Pro Bowlers Andre Johnson, Brian Cushing and Whitney Mercilus.

"It's outstanding. It's my former teammates that are here. It's great to see all you guys here," Ryans said. "The work we all put in together here – it means so much to me just to see you guys here and see your faces."

Ryans spent the past two seasons as defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, coaching top-three scoring defenses in both 2021 and 2022.

Ryans' performance – along with his history with the Texans – caught the eye of general manager Nick Caserio, who called the hiring a "no-brainer".

"What better person to lead this organization, lead this team, lead [our] players than DeMeco Ryans," Caserio said. "So, I think everything that DeMeco exudes as a player, exhibited as a player, he's done as a coach. His leadership is selflessness, his toughness, his team-first mindset, his charisma."

The Texans will get a chance to kick-start their rebuild this offseason as they hold picks number two and 12 in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Tom Brady will retire as a New England Patriot if owner Robert Kraft gets his way.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner announced his retirement on Wednesday, bringing an end to a 23-year career in the NFL.

Six of those Super Bowl victories came with the Patriots, but Brady spent the final three years of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, Kraft does not want Brady to end his career with that franchise and instead hopes he will sign a one-day contract with the Patriots.

"Not only do I want it, our fans are clamouring for it. To us, he always has been and always will be a Patriot," Kraft told CNN.

"We will do everything in our power to bring him back, have him sign off as a Patriot and find ways to honour him for many years to come.

"He did so much to bring life and good cheer to our community and he's a beloved figure and he's earned the respect and love that people feel for him like no other athlete in our town, and we've had some great ones."

Tom Brady is a "good bet" to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the first time of asking, though he will still have to wait five years.

Brady called time on his playing career on Wednesday, a year on from retiring for the first time.

While that stint out of the game only lasted 40 days, the legendary quarterback – a seven-time Super Bowl champion – said he was retiring "for good" this time around.

Brady is sure to go down as one of the greatest athletes of all time, though that does not mean he will be able to skip any queue in order to become a Hall of Famer.

Indeed, while Hall of Fame chief communications officer Rich Desrosiers believes Brady will make it into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, the earliest that will come will be 2028.

"Even Tom Brady has to wait, even Peyton Manning had to wait," Desrosiers told Stats Perform when asked if Brady could be fast-tracked into the Hall of Fame.

"There's some others that we can assume will be or would have been first ballot types of people – Peyton Manning, one that I mentioned, this same conversation came up with him.

"You've got a couple of guys out there whose clocks are running: a Larry Fitzgerald, let's say a Drew Brees.

"I think many people assume they'd be first-ballot guys. It's just something the hall doesn't want to do, because then you've created a precedent, you've established a line, and who's making that determination?

"It's also unfair to the people who are queued up right now to be part of the class of 2024. If Tom were to have the five-year mandatory waiting period waived, then he's really knocking someone else out of the class of 2024, who has been waiting to get in, and we have many players who are on their second, third, fourth, fifth, even 10th year of eligibility.

"[If] all of a sudden, you're just saying, 'we're going to let somebody jump that line', you've displaced somebody else who's gone through the process. So it's not going to happen."

Asked if Brady will be into the Hall of Fame as soon as he can, Desrosiers said: "I would think so. Right now, we have 49 selectors.

"These are 49 mostly active journalists from around the country. They meet and consider the candidacies and each person who's up for election has a presenter who presents the case for the person under consideration.

"The debate might last five minutes 10 minutes, 20. There's been debates on candidates that have gone into 25-30 minute range when you really are starting to weigh this person against that person in the past, and I think it may have started with Brett Farve – Brett's presenter stood up and said two words – 'Brett Farve' and sat back down.

"It happened again with Peyton Manning, and I'm pretty sure that whoever is the presenter for Tom Brady will take a similar approach. They'll just say, 'Tom Brady', sit down.

"Nothing can ever be assumed. But it's probably a pretty good bet."

On Brady's illustrious career, Desrosiers added: "There's people far more talented than I am in debating those things. We'll let them debate that but it's hard to argue with seven Super Bowl championships, five Super Bowl MVPs, he's virtually passing every record, whatever number you want to throw out there.

"He's at the top or near the top of every offensive statistical category there is and a winner, and the longevity – there's plenty of boxes, you can check on the side of the ledger that says greatest of all time for sure."

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