The Buccaneers are this year’s NFC South champions, and for Tom Brady, he’s one step closer to reaching the mountaintop — again — after enduring a series of personal obstacles.
During Monday’s installment of his SiriusXM podcast, “Let’s Go!,” Jim Gray asked Brady if Sunday’s division-clinching win over the Panthers felt like “a big weight off your shoulder” following a season filled with challenges and change, including the quarterback’s divorce from wife Gisele Bündchen after 13 years of marriage.
“I think that’s a, it’s a good point. And I think, you know, we all are going through stuff, you know, we’re people and we’re all going through stuff and obviously we’re all professionals and we wanna show up to work and do our best. And when you’re a professional, that’s what professional means,” Brady said.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion, who returned to the Buccaneers in March following a brief, 40-day retirement, added how professionals “show up every day with the best possible attitude you can have,” and that “you try to compartmentalize things and really focus on what your job is.”
“I think our team, you know, there’s a lot of outside noise and I know people [say], ‘Tom, you should have retired. You should have done this, you should have done that.’ You know, and that’s okay. People can have a lot of feelings or opinions and so forth. But I think, for me, there’s always gratification when you make this commitment and you have a group of individuals that do the same and you see something pay off,” the 45-year-old Brady said.
“That’s what life’s about. A lot of resilience, overcoming different obstacles over the course of the year, and then ultimately coming together for a common goal. That’s why I love team sports. I always say, do you care about your team and the people on your team? And do you care about the mission? And that’s what makes a great teammate to me.”
The Buccaneers, who improved to 8-8 on the season after Sunday’s 30-24 win over Carolina, will wrap up the regular season Sunday with a game against the Falcons in Atlanta. Brady said Monday he’s grateful for another opportunity to step out onto the field to do something “I love to do.”
“I’m happy we’re in the playoffs and I’m happy we get a chance to compete for a world championship. And we got one very important game against Atlanta on Sunday,” he said.
This year has been a rollercoaster for the Buccaneers, who dropped three straight games in October. That same month, Brady announced his split from supermodel Bündchen, 42.
“We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together,” Brady said on social media at the time. “We are blessed with beautiful and wonderful children who will continue to be the center of our world in every way.”
Brady and Bündchen are parents to son Benjamin, 13, and daughter Vivian, 10. Brady also co-parents son Jack, 15, with his ex-girlfriend, Bridget Moynahan.
