Seau signs just days after his 'retirement'

The way Junior Seau looks at it, he's now in graduate school.

Seau returned to the NFL on Friday after a four-day retirement, trading surfing in San Diego for a one-year contract with the New England Patriots that the 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker hopes will pay off with a long-sought Super Bowl ring.

"I'm going after my master's now," the jet-lagged Seau said in a conference call.

That was a reference to his lavish retirement ceremony Monday at the San Diego Chargers' headquarters when he said: "I'm not retiring. I am graduating."

The 37-year-old Seau said then that no teams wanted or needed him. But he didn't rule out coming back if the right situation came up.

Seau said the Patriots called on Tuesday. New England needed another linebacker because Tedy Bruschi has a broken wrist, although he's been out since July 31. Chad Brown and Monte Beisel also are hurt, and Willie McGinest, a mainstay of the Patriots' three Super Bowl titles in four seasons, signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent.

"When a championship team calls, you've definitely got to answer the call and definitely look into it," Seau said. "That's what I did."