Tom Brady: Being a good teammate is a key to young quarterbacks having sustained success

There are few who would argue that legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady is the GOAT at his position. One of the biggest reasons for that status is the longevity that Brady had during his 23-year NFL career.

During that long career, Brady never seemed to stop succeeding. Now, he’s shared on The Pivot Podcast that simply being a good teammate is a key to that sustained success. That’s especially true for young quarterbacks who are looking to establish themselves in the league.

“CJ [Stroud] is a good example,” Tom Brady said. “I really appreciated where he came from and all the expectations that he had and what he’s done and put together last year with a lot of humility. I could see like when I watch quarterbacks, the first thing I watch is, does he endear himself to his teammates? What are the things that he’s saying? What are the things that he’s doing to endear himself to his teammates? So that he does feel like one of the guys.”

Tom Brady needed to earn the affection of his teammates. After all, he took over the team as a second-year player who had been selected in the sixth round. On top of that, he was taking over for Drew Bledsoe, the team’s franchise quarterback who was already well-liked by his teammates and in the community.

“If he wants to separate himself from the rest of the team, you’re not gonna go play 20 years. You’re just not because the only way you’re gonna play is with your teammates because there’s only so much you can do. There’s so many things I sucked at but the only way I could get to where I wanted to get to was to have the best teammates, and the only way I could get the best teammates was if I was the best teammate. So, you have to talk the right way, hang the right way, celebrate the right way, lose the right way. I think that’s the bonding.”

Ultimately, Tom Brady emphasized that for the young quarterbacks in the NFL trying to have long successful careers, they need to embrace being a good teammate because that’s how trust is earned.

“That’s the gift in sports. There’s nothing better than being a great teammate. If somebody said, ‘You’re an unbelievable teammate,’ you’d be like, ‘Thank you,’ because they know you so intimately. You can’t fool people in a locker room. You can’t bullshit your way through a football season. Maybe you can for one year if you’re a good actor, but people really are gonna know who you are if you show up early, you put the time in,” Brady said.

“They see you how you are after you win, right after the game when you lose, how you are the next day, how you approach the week after. Everyone in the media is firing at you, ‘Brady, you suck. You did this. You did this.’ They’re gonna know who I am by the way that I approached the next week. So, I always felt like the best teammates were the ones that they were with you no matter what.”

Tom Brady then pointed to one of the hosts, Fred Taylor, who he spent two seasons with in New England as being a great teammate.

“I was fortunate. That was the best part of playing with Freddy T,” Brady said. “I know what he’s all about. I’d go to war with him any day. I love being out there on the field with him. When he was out there, man, you couldn’t have him out there enough.”

One of the quarterbacks looking to build a long career is doing so with Tom Brady’s old team, the New England Patriots. That’s Drake Maye, who with the third overall selection is the player New England is putting its hope for the future in.