Tom Brady gets choked up summarizing mesmerizing NFL career – “My life’s been about relationships”
Tom Brady's retirement remains the hottest topic in NFL circles ahead of Super Bowl LVII. The quarterback decided to hang up his boots following the most successful career in the league, becoming the only player to win seven rings.
Since his announcement, several tributes have been paid, with Brady himself guaranteeing that his retirement this time was 'for good'. He spent 23 seasons in the league and ended his career at 45 years of age, so one can understand how difficult it is for him to get to grips with his new life.
In a new video posted to his Instagram, Brady summarized his career and his journey to get to stardom, explaining why he fell in love with the game:
"When I was 12 years old, the first time I picked up the football, I used to dream about throwing the game-winning touchdown pass. I captured that feeling when I was young and that stayed with me. That's what built you. I expected to be the best every time I took the field. And everyone came to see me."
When he mentioned the reasons for dedicating so much to the game, he started to choke up.
I thought about all the people that I do it for: my team, but I do for my other team, my family," Brady said.
"And my life's been about relationships. I mean, I realize how blessed I am and how fortunate I've been. And I think about the guys who are going to represent our team beyond me, too. And what standard did I set, you know? And that's what I've given: everything. Because you want to show that you're the best at what you do."
Tom Brady's motivation and health were concerns in 2022
Many things were different for the quarterback during his last season.
Brady dealt with some off-field issues. He and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen filed for divorce during the regular season, as she reportedly wanted him to retire and become more of a family man. An elevated level of stress was perhaps behind the quarterback openly screaming and fussing on the sidelines.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington took a deeper look inside Brady's decision to return for the 2022 season and what transpired in it. One of the things he learned is, because of the amount of pressure the quarterback dealt with, he lost 15 pounds over the year.
After all the stress he endured during the season, it's no surprise that he decided to call it a career in 2022.