Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is navigating a season full of challenges on and off the field. As the Bucs try to keep pace with the rest of the NFC for a playoff spot, the quarterback’s private life has been mired in public drama as he and supermodel Gisele Bündchen have finalized their divorce in the wake of his messy return to the NFL.
On the latest episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast Brady talked about how he keeps his focus on the football field given everything that’s happening off of it.
“I think there’s so many ways for me that it just keeps great perspective for me in my life,” the 45-year-old said. “Why have I done it for as long as I have? You know, physically, I’ve explained that and I’ve tried to take care of myself. You know, mentally, and as we talked about with Coach [Sean] Payton, there’s such a drive mentally to always come up with the next great play, or the next great concept, or the next great scream. And then emotionally, that’s where I think as you get older the challenges really come in, you know — because we can get distracted by other parts of life. And not distracted in a bad way but there’s priorities that take over.
“So I’ve tried my best over the years to maintain what’s important to me. And been very fortunate to play a sport that I love. And, as I said, why do I play? Because the competition is great. Obviously, it’s a great thrill and joy to go out there and play, but you’re just, you’re a part of something that’s way bigger than yourself and there’s something to be said for that.”
The episode was recorded prior to Tampa Bay’s epic comeback win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, in which Brady capped the victory with a game-winning touchdown pass to Rachaad White, completing the largest regular-season, fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
Brady is now 3-1 since confirming his divorce if such things mean anything to you.