Tom Brady is among those individuals who don’t like the evolution of college football with the inclusion of money-influenced NIL and the transfer portal.
College football players are more about money these days, which wasn’t the case when Brady was in Michigan, where, despite the lack of opportunities, he chose to stay with the program, and to this day, the seven-time Super Bowl champion credits his success to his time spent on the sidelines in college football.
Brady recently appeared on insider Joel Klatt’s podcast, where he said modern athletes’ focus is too much towards money and NIL rather than long-term growth and development. He talked from his own personal experience about how college football was back in his days.
“I learned in college about competition, about growing up, about responsibility and accountability, about teams, about decision-making, about work ethic, and about leadership – all those sustainable traits that I learned at Michigan through not only my own doing and my experience but also watching some of the other incredible men that I got to be a part of on that team and the teams that I was a part of,” Brady said (1:25).
“For my entire life, I can look back on that and be grateful. I didn’t go to three different colleges. I didn’t leave college when it seemed like I wasn’t going to play. I wasn’t at college to do anything other than have a great college experience, to go to school, to have camaraderie with my teammates, and to compete at a high level,” he added.
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Tom Brady made a defining choice in his Michigan days
Tom Brady joined the Wolverines in 1995 and stayed there until 1999. In his initial years at the program, he was buried in the depth with no ray of hope for the starting job. He even approached head coach Lloyd Carr seeking to leave the program. However, Carr said that it would be the biggest mistake of his life.
“It’ll be the biggest mistake of your life,” Carr said in 2023 that he told Brady. “You came here to be the best. You came here because of the great competition. If you walk away now, you’ll always wish you had stayed and tried to compete. You’ll always wonder what would have happened if you stayed.”
Brady ultimately decided to stay and vowed that he will become a great quarterback. That decision to stay behind bore fruit for the quarterback, as he got the opportunity to lead the Wolverines program in the final two seasons. He finished his college career with 4,773 yards with 30 touchdowns against 17 interceptions.
Read More: Tom Brady’s College Stats: Fringe Starter to All-Time Great
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