Brady On Lifestyle: 'It Means A Lot To Me To Be Out On The Field For Our Team'
BOSTON (CBS) -- At 40 years old, Tom Brady has accomplished everything there is to accomplish in the game of football.
He's won five Super Bowls, earning the game's MVP four times, to establish himself as the greatest quarterback of all time. Yet he's still out there on the field taking big hits, and off the field, he holds himself to a strict diet that doesn't even allow him to eat tomatoes.
It's enough to make a reasonable person wonder why Brady still does it. As the quarterback explained to Scott Zolak on "Patriots All Access" on WBZ-TV, Brady remains totally committed to playing football for the New England Patriots. And living his life the way he does allows him to continue playing.
"I think it's hugely important. I think it's, I've just learned a certain way that works for me," Brady said. "I try to incorporate those things into my daily life, and it's year-round. I try to make a big commitment, because it means a lot to me to be out on the field for our team. It's a big commitment for me to be out there, and I take that very seriously. I know the team pays me a certain amount of money, and I feel it's my responsibility to do everything I can to be out there."
While Brady's been unable to put an exact expiration date on his career, there's nothing he's feeling now that indicates he's anywhere close to the end.
"I just spent a lot of time working at it, and I think I can keep going," he said. "As long as I feel good, I know I can think. It takes a little effort and discipline, but as long as I can do that, I know I can be successful on the field."
Brady also isn't content to remain at his current level, and he explained what he does to prevent picking up any bad habits throughout the course of a season.
"Well I'm always working on my techniques, my fundamentals. That's a daily thing for me," he told Zolak. "I always think you can get a percentage or two off a week for five weeks, and you're 10 percent off of where you want to be, whether it's with certain quarterbacking techniques or things like that. So you've got to really stay sharp. I film a lot of those things so I can watch it daily, know really what I'm looking for. You've got to be sharp."
With the Jimmy Garoppolo trade being the big news of the week, Brady weighed in on the surprise of seeing "a great teammate and a great friend" get traded away midseason. Yet while such a move is an indicator that Bill Belichick and the Patriots front office believes Brady will continue playing at the highest level for several more years, Brady didn't want to talk about those implications of the trade.
"I think this team in general has put itself in a great position to be successful. The coaches, the players, and I love being a part of that," Brady said. "I wake up every day thinking about how I can help this team win, and the work I need to put in so I can really be held accountable for what I do, so I can be really dependably for the team. We've had a great thing going, so hopefully we can continue doing it."
You can watch the full Tom Brady interview from Patriots All Access on Patriots.com.
