Tom Brady Talks Cryptically About Personal Life, Compares NFL Season to Going to War

Tom Brady is making clear the impact an NFL season makes on his personal life. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback recently spoke out on his Let’s Go! podcast and said NFL seasons are similar to “going away on deployment for the military.” Brady cryptically admitted he focuses on certain aspects of his personal life during the season but then gets buried in football. 

“I almost look at like a football season like you’re going away on deployment for the military,” Brady said, per TMZ Sports. “And it’s like, ‘Man, here I go again.’ The reality is you can really only be authentic to yourself. Right? Whatever you may say — ‘Ah, man, I want to, you know, make sure I spend a little more time doing this during the season,’ the reality is when it comes down to it, your competitiveness takes over and as much as you want to have this playful balance with the work balance — you’re going to end up doing exactly what you’ve always done, which is why you are who you are.”

Brady’s focus during the season has led to big success during his 23-year NFL career. He has played in 10 Super Bowls while winning seven of them, named Super Bowl MVP five times, won the NFL MVP award three times and is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns. 

However, Brady is now reportedly dealing with marital issues with his wife Gisele Bündchen, with the couple reportedly on the brink of divorcing. Neither Brady nor Bündchen have talked about their issues publicly, but the two have not been seen together recently and they are not wearing their wedding rings. When Bündchen spoke to Elle, she talked about wanting to do more in her career after supporting Brady and taking care of their two children. 

“I’ve done my part, which is [to] be there for [Tom],” she said. “I moved to Boston, and I focused on creating a cocoon and a loving environment for my children to grow up in and to be there supporting him and his dreams. Seeing my children succeed and become the beautiful little humans that they are, seeing him succeed, and being fulfilled in his career—it makes me happy. At this point in my life, I feel like I’ve done a good job on that. …I have a huge list of things that I have to do, that I want to do. At 42, I feel more connected with my purpose.”