IS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS quarterback Tom Brady laying the groundwork for life after football?

After four Super Bowl victories and three Super Bowl MVPs, we certainly hope not. But the 37-year-old QB is giving a talk as part of the Salem State University speaker series on May 7. Tickets are $25 to $100. It made us wonder if he’s sharpening his speaking skills for a second act. Could TB12 be thinking about politics?

Brady Tom

Karen Cady, a spokeswoman for Salem State, says she thinks Brady’s talk will focus primarily on sports. She points out that his talk, strictly speaking, is not a speech. Brady is going to do a 45-minute interview with his pal, sports reporter Jim Gray, and then take questions for 15 minutes.

Brady has hinted in the past that he might like to try his hand at politics once he hangs up the cleats. In December 2007, he told 60 Minutes that he was not averse to running for office some day. “It would be something I think I could do a decent job at,” he said. Asked what political party he belongs to, he said:  “I’m actually independent and I have been for some time.”

Quincy officials say Brady switched from Republican to unenrolled in 2004.  He got embroiled in a little political kerfluffle in 2004 when President George W. Bush invited him to the State of the Union address, which took place one day after Massachusetts’ own John Kerry won the Iowa caucuses. Brady has mostly stayed out of the political limelight ever since.

Bruce Mohl oversees the production of content and edits reports, along with carrying out his own reporting with a particular focus on transportation, energy, and climate issues. He previously worked...