Tom Brady is black on the field. Only this time he will be experiencing football “from a different perspective.” With seven Super Bowl victories, five Super Bowl MVPs, three league MVP awards, and an incredible 15 Pro Bowl appearances, he stands as one of the most accomplished players in NFL history. Now, it’s time for a new chapter in his NFL journey.
After announcing his retirement earlier this off-season, he seems to have shifted his focus to various entrepreneurial endeavors. His relationship with football, however, remains consistent, since he has devised various means to remain actively involved. On Monday’s episode of “Let’s Go!” [Season III] co-hosted by former Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray, the legendary quarterback got really candid about things that he experienced during his NFL career- including extremely unpleasant ones involving a significant safety gear of great importance.
“I am always honest”: Tom Brady gets real
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On being asked how he was coping with the transition, from going to the stadium as a player versus as an audience, Brady replied,“ I am enjoying life.” The former Patriots quarterback reflects on how he is simply embracing the change and making the most of the opportunities that come his way.
He feels a lot of gratitude, towards all the memories and experiences that he made on the field and reflects on how his relationship with football has evolved over the years, “I went there as a player, I went there once as a competitor, and I am going there now as a fan I will be there in the future as a broadcaster.”
He might be missing the action on the field but there are parts that he is extremely “excited” about not having to go through again. Like putting on a six-pound helmet in 102-degree heat anymore. “I have done enough of that,” said the NFL legend. The NFL helmets, however, have been making headlines this season.
NFL: A game of calculated violence
Violence is integral to the game of American football and it is also the most-watched sport in the whole of America. The NFL has had a history of serious on-field injuries and continues to record more such instances with each new game.
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However, the NFL has made the safety of its players a priority. New safety gear and measures have been upgraded in order to ensure player injury is considerable. For example the NFL’s latest safety innovation, in the form of a Guardian Cap, is simple yet ingenious: adding extra padding around players’ heads to mitigate the impact of helmet blows, with the goal of significantly reducing concussions and negative consequences of on-field collisions.
Significant alterations were made in the NFL’s concussion protocols, in collaboration with the NFL Players Association. A pivotal addition was the inclusion of abnormal balance or stability as a symptom that prohibits a player from returning to a game.
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Irrespective of inherited fear of violence, however, in Brady’s words, “Football brings us together, there’s a lot of blood sweat, and tears;” quite literally.
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