What makes Tom Brady such an effective recruiter?
Tom Brady fooled us all. There was a period of 40 days where the greatest quarterback of all time was retired from the NFL, but now he’s back.
He will return to Tampa Bay, and the Buccaneers will be thankful to get another year of Brady’s on-field brilliance, but they will also get his quite effective presence as a recruiter for the Glazer-owned franchise.
Yet, just what is it about Tom Brady that makes him such an effective recruiter?
Players want to win
There is a simple fact about NFL players, with the rare exception, they want to win. Players who are free agents or looking for a trade away from their current team often identify the landing spot where they have the best chance of winning a championship.
Von Miller picked the Los Angeles Rams at the trade deadline and ended up winning the Super Bowl with them in 2021 and could then freely choose to sign for a team where he would earn the most money for next season.
Few players guarantee success like Brady. His presence on both the Patriots and Buccaneers rosters has virtually promised a run in the playoffs, and players are attracted to that.
They see the qualities the veteran has at the most important position on the field, and they want to ride his coattails to a championship.
Tom's performances on the field have been consistent, while his conditioning work to extend his career is verging on legendary. If you had the chance to put your own chances of success in the hands of anyone in the NFL, you’d pick Brady.
I’m told that before Brady made his announcement Sunday, he got to work, calling Ryan Jensen to tell him he was coming back, which kept Jensen from hitting the open market in free agency. The feeling was, Jensen could get $15 million per year. He’s staying in Tampa at $13 million twitter.com/JennaLaineESPN…
Experience creates contacts
Over the years the NFL has seen front office personnel take on greater importance to franchises, especially in the General Manager position.
Often, individuals work their way up to this role, building up an array of contacts across the league along their journey.
Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff are prime examples of this. Both are part of Bill Belichick’s coaching tree, stretching back to his time as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. They subsequently worked as general managers in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons respectively, using their relationships to recruit players.
However, in the era of free agent signings having an incredible amount of power in sport, we’ve started to see veteran players do virtually the same thing.
LeBron James signed for the Los Angeles Lakers on the basis that he would have a strong say in recruiting the players he would work with, and once an individual transcends the scope of a franchise, they can act as de-facto general managers.
Brady had the exact same influence upon arriving in Tampa, with his personal plea leading Rob Gronkowski to come out of retirement and play alongside him once more.
Other players have followed: Antonio Brown worked with him in New England, and the 44-year-old even went as far as letting the receiver stay in his house to build a rapport once he signed for the Bucs.
Brady has the superstar factor
If you were to make a list of generational sporting talents who achieved unparalleled levels of success and notoriety, then you’d have something like this… Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi and Tom Brady.
These names mean something, even to those who aren’t necessarily fans of the sport. They are superstars, and this is a key part of the recruiting arsenal these athletes have.
Russell Gage got a phone call from Tom Brady Monday night and thought it was a prank. “I was stuck between this is not real and this is not funny.” Says he has conversations with team “but this was like no other.” Gage was 3 years old when Brady started in the NFL.
How honored must a player feel to receive the famed phone call from TB12? The fact that, perhaps, the greatest quarterback ever is taking the time to contact you is enough to stir emotion within a player, as numerous individuals have attested to.
Leonard Fournette spoke of his "shock" when Brady called him to persuade him to sign for the Buccaneers after his Jaguars career ended acrimoniously.
Russell Gage was discussing future destinations with his agent as recently as early last week, only for a phone call from Tampa Bay’s quarterback to make his decision for him.
“For a minute, I thought it was a prank somebody was trying to pull one on me,” Gage explained in his introductory press conference in Tampa.
“He [Brady] told me about what they have here in Tampa Bay and that he wanted me to be a part of it.”
Brady will look to use his powers of persuasion once more in the coming days with the Bucs needing to re-sign Fournette, Ndamukong Suh and Will Gholston. Furthermore, speculation remains that he will also try and tempt the newly-released Julio Jones to Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Tampa Bay signed Brady the football player, but got a whole lot more.
He is a personable individual who commands the respect of all those involved in the sport, and this has proven pivotal in how the Bucs have built a roster that delivered a championship in 2020.
It could even be argued that, as he heads into what is surely his final season in the sport, his recruitment powers may well prove even more valuable than his on-field exploits, given the gaps in the Buccaneers roster.