The much-hyped Tom Brady interview with Howard Stern on the radio legend’s SiriusXM show Wednesday morning went down, and in some ways — as the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback tweeted a week ago — Brady was looser than usual.
He let out some expletives and had some laughs. But Stern asked him about his experience at Michigan, about Brady ending his New England Patriots career and about his marriage, and the future Hall of Famer was extremely introspective at times. There were times he sounded heartfelt, honest and uninhibited, and we learned a few things we all might not have known about Brady before. Here’s a rundown.
1. Brady thought his 2019 season with the Patriots would probably be his last
That’s a big piece of news right there.
2. The WiFi in Derek Jeter’s Tampa mansion might be spotty
Or maybe there was just technical difficulties all around, but Brady was on Zoom to start the interview and kept freezing. So he called in instead.
3. He always thought he was letting his dad down by drinking or smoking in high school
4. He denied there was any resentment or conflict with Bill Belichick
He praised the legendary New England Patriots coach, pointing out that he wouldn’t have been successful without Belichick, but also vice versa. He had no resentment about Belichick not making him a Patriot for life.
Brady also said, “I know genuinely how he feels about me” and knows that it’s Belichick’s responsibility to get players who are good for both the short and long term. Planning for the future, as Brady said, is “what (Belichick) should be doing.”
5. He had to make changes with his home life after a letter from his wife Gisele Bundchen
We’ve heard about the letter Bundchen wrote to him that she never sent. It turns out a few years ago, she wrote another letter she gave him that Brady keeps and reads from time to time. It led to Brady making changes in his home life.
6. Brady wasn’t going to retire just because everyone is getting on him about his age
7. Donald Trump asked both Brady and Stern to speak at the Republican National Convention
Of course they didn’t. Brady was also asked to judge a Miss USA pageant and didn’t do that either. But Brady got uncomfortable when his friendship mixed with politics (although Stern didn’t ask about the MAGA hat in Brady’s locker from 2015).
8. There were many reasons he signed with Tampa over other teams
Brady said he made a list of about 20 things that were important to him that the Bucs checked off: he wanted to be close to his son Jack, who’s in New York City. He wanted to play with “great players” (Stern had asked about whether receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans were big factors). Coaching was important, and he thought it was cool he’d play in a warm climate for the first time.
