Tom Brady is generally regarded as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He retired from the game after the 2022 season, calling it quits after 23 years in the league. The sixth-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft rewrote the record books, throwing for an NFL-record 89,214 yards and 649 touchdowns, with 212 interceptions, while completing 64.3% of his passes.
His seven Super Bowl titles and five Super Bowl MVP awards are NFL records. He remains the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl in both the AFC and NFC, winning six titles with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady recently revealed how embracing bad weather gave him an edge over other quarterbacks.
Tom Brady Shares How Embracing Bad Weather Gave Him an Edge Over the Competition
Tom Brady appeared on the “Veritasium” podcast on Saturday, where he discussed the physics behind throwing a football. The future Pro Football Hall of Famer revealed that his willingness to embrace bad weather gave him an edge over the competition, stating:
“I preferred outdoor, 70 degrees, humid, tiny little breeze, just to keep you cool… I felt like my depth perception was a little better outside. I liked just the natural feel of the natural air. The dome always felt like a vacuum… I would say yes [that he had an edge when the weather was bad] and the reason why is I’d say I practiced in it all the time.
“And I think getting used to the conditions and the familiarity of the wind, of the humidity, of the rain, of the snow, you know, grass field, turf field, I knew exactly what to wear for every single condition. I played 23 seasons, 100 to 120 practices a year so that’s over 2,000 plus practices. You know the thickness you want your sleeve.
“You go, okay, what’s the temperature? It’s 50 degrees, okay, this is the shirt I wear when it’s 50 degrees. Oh, it’s 35 degrees, these are the two shirts I wear when it’s 35 degrees. This is the muff that I wear. You know, this is how many heat packs I put in the muff to keep my hand warm when it’s 30 degrees versus when it’s 50 degrees. You just have to [have it all dialed in]. I mean, you just observe over time and you get better and better.”
Brady compared throwing a football to driving an F1 car. He suggested that there are fractions of things to do to make quarterbacks feel the most comfortable. The NFL legend thrived during his playing career, most of which was spent playing in the cold New England weather.