Tom Brady showed up to the Fanatics Flag Football Classic and reminded everyone he’s still got it. The 48-year-old didn’t coast through the event. He went hard, treating it like the competition still mattered.
But the days leading up to that appearance told a different story. Brady recently admitted the past ten days were among his most exhausting since retiring from the NFL in 2023. His schedule was packed wall-to-wall with meetings, calls, media obligations, travel, and practices.
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The relentless grind eventually caught up with him. After finally getting home, Brady took a step back and started thinking about what he actually wants out of life now that football is behind him.
Tom Brady reflects after exhausting stretch following Fanatics event
He pulled out a list he had made at the start of the year, one that outlined the things he wanted to prioritize once his playing career ended.
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“When I finally got home at the end of this crazy ten-day stretch,” Brady wrote in his blog on Tuesday. “It brought my attention back to a list I made at the beginning of the year of the things I wanted to prioritize or spend a little more time doing or trying when my football career was over.”
“They’re things I also felt could help balance me out a little bit; improve my ability to calm my nervous system, calm my brain, calm my body, and, more generally, just be okay not feeling like I always have to achieve.”
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NFL Legend Tom Brady
Founders FFC quarterback Tom Brady throws ball during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic at BMO stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The goals aren’t outrageous. He wants to surf more, get better at dancing and singing, learn how to cook, improve his swimming, meditate regularly, cut back on social media, and spend more time journaling and reading.
“The list isn’t crazy, but it’s one that can be hard to work on when you spend ten days away from home, going full gas no brakes until your tank is virtually empty,” Brady added, questioning whether that kind of balance is even realistic for someone wired the way he is.
If anyone can figure it out, it’s probably him. Brady has a track record of accomplishing whatever he sets his mind to.
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Tom Brady
Tom Brady waves at fans at Ford Field.
Tom Brady’s track record fuels belief he can figure it out
His NFL career is proof of that. After 23 seasons, Brady retired as the most decorated player in league history. Drafted 199th overall in 2000, he went on to shatter every major passing record. He finished with 89,214 career passing yards and 649 touchdowns in the regular season alone.
The championships speak for themselves. Brady won seven Super Bowl titles, more than any single franchise has managed.
He led the New England Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and won six before heading to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and capturing another ring at 43 years old. On top of that, he collected five Super Bowl MVP awards and three league MVP honors, including the first unanimous MVP selection in NFL history.