And he’s beginning to prepare to deal with the grind of another grueling NFL season, Brady explained of how his life is evolving as he ages.
“As you get older, life changes quite a bit,” the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback said Monday on his Let’s Go podcast. “There are different responsibilities that take shape in your life. There are different perspectives you gain.
“When I was 25, all I thought about was football. That was my life. It was eating, sleeping, drinking football. It was my job. It was my career. Over time, other priorities develop because you change and Life develops and you grow in different ways. You take on these different responsibilities like family and commitments and so on and you put time and energy into those things.”
Brady described the “big camera” that he says was always on him, inspecting his football life as well as his personal life and the scrutiny that comes with it.
“You can’t stop your life even though sports are happening. Even though I’m playing in my 23rd year, I have a freshman in high school who also plays soccer,” he said. “I have a 12-year-old going through his life.
“I have a 9 year old going through her life. And I have parents, and I have a lot of things that are really important, off-the-field activities and goals that you want to maximize as well. Once the football season comes around I’m really sure of what I need to do and how I need to focus and what kind of commitment I need to make to the organization so that we as a team can maximize our potential.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner has been philosophical about how he’s dealing with the pressures of being the NFL’s biggest star and his changing life.
“I don’t think life is the ultimate joy. I don’t think life is always the ultimate pain. I don’t think life is the ultimate struggle,” he said.
“Your life ebbs and flows; through the clouds and through the sun and through the rain and through the beautiful days. And you appreciate the moments and you find joy in the little things.”
After his lonely preseason game on Aug. 27, Brady told reporters “there’s a lot of shit going on” when asked about his 11-day absence from training camp.
And although others suggested Brady had lost his passion for the game, he was unequivocal in his devotion to performing on the field.
“I just felt like I had a little bit left and I want to try and I owe it to my teammates and our amazing coaches and our entire organization,” he said. “We’ve built something very special here in Tampa over the last few years.
“And we were pretty close last year, late last year we lost to the Super Bowl champions, they made a few more games than we did in this game. The competitive fire is still burning and I want to get out of there and I wish everyone a great season because there are many people who have supported me along the way and I’ve always felt that I am responsible for the name on the back of my jersey and for the name on the front of my jersey is the Bucs and my family.
“I think football has taught me a lot of amazing lessons over the years, it’s given me incredible relationships, I have some of the best memories of my life on the field and I feel like this year will be the same. “