What could be more difficult than playing quarterback? Well, for Joe Burrow, it’s managing off-the-field issues and dealing with fame, managing relationships, and keeping a holistic outlook toward life. When Burrow got injured last year, he might have been surrounded by heaps of questions he didn’t know how to deal with. Luckily, he has mentors to help him out.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback went to The Rich Eisen Show and discussed what the fans can expect from him and his team moving forward. It’s just been two games into the regular season and the Bengals have had a rocky start. Of course, it takes a mental toll sometimes, but Burrow has guardian angels in Tom Brady and Peyton Manning to guide him, fortunately.

“I talked to Tom [Brady] several times this offseason and he’s a good resource for me. Peyton is, you know, I’ve known Peyton since I was, after my first year at LSU and he’s helped me a lot along the road and so whenever I get a chance to pick those guys’ brains about how they operated,” Burrow said.

He wanted to know “what their process was, how they thought about certain things, maybe it’s not even football, maybe it’s off the field, you know, how they handle certain things. That’s always an opportunity that I’m going to take advantage of,” on The Rich Eisen Show.

With that said, Burrow wanted to keep Tom Brady’s wise words to himself and not air out his “personal” business. The Cincinnati Bengals star is a phenomenal QB, so quarterback isn’t something he might need a lot of help with. For Burrow, maintaining a healthy relationship with “friends and family” while dealing with the ups and downs of fame takes precedence.

Talking about fame, Tom Brady knows the ups and downs of it and mostly, the negativity it brings. Fortunately, 23 seasons in the league have taught him how to deal with backlash.

The parallels of Tom Brady’s life and how Joe Burrow can learn from them

Brady’s divorce from Gisele Bundchen caused a stir for sure. Being a football icon kept Tom Brady busy enough to sometimes not be able to pay attention to his family. It came to a point where he missed out on most Christmas and Thanksgiving days. When people say “money can’t buy happiness,” they’re probably taking into account Brady’s conundrum.

“I think that’s what being a professional is,” Brady said. “I’ve dealt with a lot of challenging situations on and off the field over 23 years, and a lot of it does play out in front of a lot of people.” If not being able to celebrate festivals and cherish birthdays wasn’t enough, the 7x Super Bowl winner didn’t even have time to go to funerals. That’s how hard his personal life was.

Trying to find better ways to balance personal life and career is “what professionals do.” The Super Bowl champ knows that by heart, but sometimes there are too many variables to an equation.

With that being said, do check out our latest Think Tank exclusive interview with Doug Sanders. It’s packed with insights on the current NFL season, college football, NIL, and much more.