“I am unbelievably grateful to have my tiny humans. It is a privilege, but I'm gonna get real honest about this."
Tom Brady is disappointed in the lack of mental and emotional youth development he sees in athletes.
In a conversation with college football analyst Joel Klatt, released Aug. 11, the 48-year-old former NFL quarterback shared his thoughts on how college athletes are deprived of a true college experience.
The way he sees it, young athletes today are too focused on money — and not focused enough on competition.
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“My college experience was very challenging. It was very competitive,” he said on “The Joel Klatt Show.”
“The lessons I learned in college that I referred to earlier, and certainly about competition, those traits transformed my life as a professional,” he added.
Brady spent five years at the University of Michigan, per the NCAA, including one year as a redshirt freshman and two years as a backup before being named the team’s starting quarterback.
"I was ready to compete against anybody because the competition in college toughened me up so much that I had a self-belief and self-confidence in myself,” he said of his time in college.
According to Tom Brady, the college experience today is taking that competition away from young athletes.
His thoughts come at a time when teenagers are signing massive NIL deals before going pro and often transfer to new schools to avoid competition and be placed in situations that make it easy to succeed.
“That is absolutely the wrong thing to do to a child,” Brady said.
According to ESPN, name, image and likeness (NIL) deals became legal in 2021 — at which point college athletes compensation became a priority.
Some of the highest paid college athletes today are making as much as $6.8 million per year, according to Sports Illustrated.
And while the transfer portal was created in 2018, per the NCAA, its usage has skyrocketed in recent years as college athletes continue to take advantage of the opportunities it creates.
“I would challenge all the coaches and all the parents,” he continues. “They’re the ones who have to guide these kids.”
Brady went on to argue that teenage athletes shouldn’t be expected to “make these great decisions.”
“They're young. They don't have life experience," he added. "It should be the parents. Be a good parent. Teach your kid the right values. What's going to sustain them in their careers over a period of time?”
Brady adds that it doesn’t matter if it’s football, business or any other career — kids today need more parental guidance.
“We’re prioritizing the wrong things. We’re valuing the wrong things,” he told Klatt.
Tom Brady says college sports today is ‘confusing’ kids and parents alike
Brady is no stranger to parenting — and certainly no stranger to becoming a successful athlete.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion shares two kids — son Benjamin Rein, 15, and daughter Vivian Lake, 12 — with his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, according to People.
He also shares a 17-year-old son John "Jack" Edward Thomas with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.
While talking to Klatt about the landscape of college sports today, Brady sympathized with parents and kids alike.
"I'm sure it's a very confusing time, and I'm sure a lot of parents are confused. I'm sure a lot of kids are confused,” he said.
“We're just talking about money, money, money, money, like, that's the only value in college?” he added. “That, to me, [shows] the priorities are a bit messed up."
Tom Brady went on to discuss just how different things are today when college athletes are making millions before turning pro.
“We had a $400 scholarship check,” he said of his time at the University of Michigan.
"We got pizza cards to go to dinner, and we had a training table, and it was an amazing experience. We didn't think about the money,” he added.
Brady then denounced the idea of “tempting” kids with “real-life, adult situations” before their frontal lobes are finished developing.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “the development and maturation of the prefrontal cortex occurs primarily during adolescence and is fully accomplished at the age of 25 years.”
You can listen to the conversation in its entirety below:
Brady was 22 years old when he was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, per ESPN.
He was named the team’s starter the following year and went on to play 20 years with the franchise before spending another three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to ESPN.
“I think we're lacking the mental, emotional development," he told Klatt of college athletes today.
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"Physically, they may look developed. Mentally, emotionally, they're very underdeveloped,” he added.
