Tom Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to eclipse the 100,000 passing yards mark last week.

He almost didn’t get there.

“When I was 27, I almost retired from the game of football, because of elbow pain,” Brady said in an ad for TB12 Sports. “Now, I’m 45 years old and I’m still here.”

In that 2004 season, Brady threw for 3,692 yards and 18 touchdowns and went on to win his third Super Bowl with the New England Patriots — right as he got into the prime of his career.

Brady attributes his longevity in the NFL to the TB12 method, a method of strict dieting and workouts that focuses on stretching and pliability. Thanks to his workouts, Brady has put together arguably three Hall-of-Fame worthy careers over his 23 seasons. He became the oldest player in the NFL to win MVP when he won the award in 2017 at the age of 40, his third MVP award, and has since won two additional Super Bowls including the MVP of the game in Super Bowl 55.

“No matter the age, no matter the obstacle, it’s about how you feel and what you do,” Brady said in the ad. 

The star QB retired for a few weeks in March, only to unretire and return to the Bucs this season. Despite a middling performance with Tampa Bay — and a divorce from supermodel Gisele Bundchen — Brady seemingly has no plans to hang up his jersey anytime soon.

“No retirement in my future,” he told reporters on Oct. 30.

Whenever he does decided to pack it in, he’ll keep busy: Brady has an agreement to join Fox as the top TV analyst for a whopping $375 million over 10 years.