Tom Brady had a dedicated approach to football during his career in the NFL that was well documented.
During an interview with “The Pivot’’ podcast, the seven-time Super Bowl winner shared some regret about his fierce method.
“What I would have changed was, ‘OK, there’s part of me that still loves …’ You see these young players. I see, like, Patrick [Mahomes] out there at quarterback, laughing, having fun,” Brady told former NFL players and current podcast co-hosts Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder in May.
“I’m like, ‘I used to be like that!’ What the hell happened to me? I just got too serious.”
Brady appeared to have a serious and debatedly robotic approach that the New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick had during the franchise’s unprecedented era of success.
Whenever Brady got emotional, he would get in his teammates’ faces to yell at them on the sideline or smash a table.
But he got less uptight when he left the Patriots to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
Brady announced that he would retire from the NFL “for good’’ after the 2022 season. The NFL icon is now gearing up to join the broadcasting booth.
He, and NFL on FOX play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt, will call the Dallas Cowboys Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns on September 8th. The game will mark his debut as FOX Sports’ lead NFL analyst. Brady also stepped into the broadcast booth during last month’s UFL Championship match.
As Brady prepares for the next step in his career, he also reflected on the things he could have done differently.
“You just learn from it, and go, ‘OK, now the next phase of life, enjoy it a little more,’” Brady said.
He also talked about the challenges he faced during the early years of his career.
“So much [of], I think, the early part of my career was trying to fulfil people’s new expectations of me and me still being the 14-year-old boy that wanted to fit in. I was like, ‘I just want to go to the field and play,’” Brady said. “Now, there were all these other things to choose from.
“Next thing you know, you’re overwhelmed because you didn’t sleep, you didn’t eat right, you were partying. I’m like, ‘I don’t really like the way I’m feeling.’”
Brady had an eventful few months leading up to his highly awaited transition to broadcasting. New England held a star-packed Hall of Fame induction ceremony for him at Gillette Stadium in June.
