Brady: Changes ‘part of life’
GOAT says ‘only person I have to prove anything to is myself’
Tom Brady wrote a lengthy piece in The Players’ Tribune on Monday about moving on from the Patriots, and some of his motivation behind it.
Some of those reasons were direct and others implied. According to sources familiar with Brady’s thinking, it’s long been clear he wanted and needed a change from working with Bill Belichick the past two decades. He sought a different environment, with a different culture.
It’s laced into what he wrote.
“Changes and challenges are part of life. They’re part of athletes’ lives,” he penned. “They’re supposed to happen. They need to happen sometimes.”
Then he added this: “Playing for one team for 20 years has been an amazing ride and experience. But doing the same thing year after year brings its own challenges. A familiar rhythm can be comforting and great. But it can also make you lose sight of other rhythms, newer ones that remind you of everything that hasn’t been done yet. One isn’t necessarily better than another — they’re different, is all.
“Playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a change, a challenge, an opportunity to lead and collaborate, and also to be seen and heard. And I know my time there will be as amazing in its own way as what came before.”
So he discusses “an opportunity to lead and collaborate.” Brady did not feel the latter was happening last season both with Bill Belichick, and to some extent, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. It has been reported in some circles Brady felt like his voice wasn’t being heard. Those words support the notion.
That, too, is echoed in what he wrote about the Buccaneers.
“They’ve welcomed me as one of their own. They want to listen to what I have to say. I’m excited to be embraced fully for what I can bring to the Bucs,” Brady wrote. “In turn I’m ready to embrace fully a team that is confident in what I do — and what I bring — and is willing to go on this ride with me.”
Brady, who signed a twoyear, $50 million fully guaranteed contract with the Bucs, did not get a sense his head coach was “confident” in what he could do, based on the type of offers Belichick presented in recent seasons and lack of one prior to hitting the free agent market this year.
Naturally, Brady also feels he has something to prove. That’s been his mantra ever since he arrived in the league as a sixth-round draft choice.
“For me, playing football isn’t going to last another 10 years. In the time left, the question is, How can I keep maximizing what I do, put everything I can into it, make
it the best I possibly can? At this point in my career, the only person I have to prove anything to is myself. Physically, I’m as capable of doing my job as I’ve ever been. Now I want to see what more I can do.
“I want to see how great I can be. I want to hear other people say, “Go, man. Now that’s what we’ve been missing. That’s what we need! That’s what we’ve been looking for!” Deep down I know what I can do. I know what I can bring. Now I want to see it in action.”
That said, Brady, who was just named to his second AllDecade team, also expressed gratitude for what he experienced in New England. He knows he can’t get that anywhere else.
“The support and love of New England fans has always been unconditional. So many great moments stand out for me — the packed training camps, the victory parades, the tens of thousands of supporters who came to see us off at the airport each time we boarded the plane for the Super Bowl. Win or lose, the same number of people would be there to greet our plane when we came home. Gillette Stadium holds around 70,000 people, and I’ve never not played in a sold-out stadium during my career as a Patriot. How fortunate am I? “Tomm-eeee! Tomm-eee!”
I would hear that echoing through the stands, and it always meant so much to me.”
But now, he’s on to the next chapter, and is excited about the prospects.