Opinion: Tom Brady's legacy also includes the blueprint he provided on NFL player empowerment
Update: Brady officially announced his retirement Tuesday
Whenever Tom Brady decides to make official his retirement and end his legendary career, he’ll do so with a matchless legacy that features a fist-and-a-half full of rings and a slew of individual honors and records amassed over 22 remarkable seasons.
We may never see another player compile a résumé that features so many individual and team accomplishments. But his legacy also will include a highly important aspect that paves the way for attainable success in another regard.
For many of his fellow players, Brady – who is expected to soon officially announce his retirement – leaves a legacy of player empowerment.
For as much as he set the standard of champions on the field, Brady, in the second half of his career, made just as significant an impact in the area of player empowerment.
From the decisions he made when it came to the care for his body to his handling of business and career decisions, Brady showed the way and encouraged peers to conduct themselves more as businessmen rather than beholden employees.
For the bulk of his career, Brady was viewed as the perfect gear in the machine that is the Patriot Way.
Yes, he certainly embodied the tireless commitment, the meticulous preparation, the unwavering accountability and selfless mindset that Bill Belichick demanded.
But in the last decade, as he sought to extend his career and maintain peak performance, Brady simultaneously turned into an individualist of sorts. He remained the ultimate teammate, but in terms of his approach to the establishment, the iconic quarterback shifted to a more defiant tone.
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He hired his own trainer and adapted strength training habits that went against the traditional iron-slamming ways football players have clung to for generations. He became very selective about his diet.
And Brady didn't want to just keep these secrets to himself. He wanted to share them with anyone looking for an edge, be they teammates, opponents or non-football players. The TB12 Method is a way of life for Brady, and by evidence of his book and frequent promotion of such philosophies, he wants others to embrace it as well.
By the time he hoisted his second Lombardi Trophy (two years after his first to cap the 2001 season), Brady had become one of the faces of the league and one of its fiercest competitors. But as his career progressed, he also evolved into one of the players' strongest voices of reason and leadership as the union engaged owners in labor disputes.
During the lockout of 2011, when players began feeling pressure to cave to the owners' demands, it was Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees who emerged as leaders, urging their peers to fight for better working conditions, improved benefits and greater earning potential.
Yes, Brady had a strong relationship with Patriots owner Robert Kraft. But as he saw the way the Indianapolis Colts treated Manning at the end of the quarterback's tenure with the organization, Brady began to understand that even the most successful players at some point are deemed expendable. Sacrificing for the good of the franchise, then, needed to have its limits.
For years, Brady settled for lesser contracts in hopes of ensuring the Patriots would use the extra cap space to surround him with superior talent. But the frugal ways largely persisted, which, along with Belichick’s refusal to give him the type of treatment that he believed he deserved, served as a source of frustration late in Brady’s Patriots tenure. Ultimately, that served as a driving factor in his decision to leave New England for Tampa -- a franchise willing to spend to surround him with talent and also embrace him with sincere and overwhelming appreciation while accepting his input on personnel decisions.
As he headed south and proceeded to win another Super Bowl, Brady showed his fellow players they could take greater control of their situations and better position themselves for success.
It’s why Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers grew restless last offseason after seeing Brady bolt from New England, call his own shot, and deliver. And it’s why both could orchestrate their exits from Seattle and Green Bay, respectively, this offseason.
Brady also began showing his peers that a more balanced approach to the offseason also is possible.
Toward the end in New England, he realized the importance of protecting his family time and skipped voluntary workouts. In the last two years, as the NFL and NFL Players Association leaders haggled over how to handle offseason practices amid a pandemic, Brady encouraged his teammates and fellow players across the league to stay away from team facilities and train on their own to ensure their safety from COVID-19.
And in one final flex as his career reached its final stages, Brady also has shown how players can take control of the telling of their stories. First was his Facebook series "Tom vs. Time," followed by this year's "Man in the Arena" series on ESPN+. Rather than entrust the narrative to others, he calls the shots and ensures that his message is relayed exactly how he wants.
So it should come as no surprise that when news broke on Saturday of his plans to retire, the Brady camp pushed back, insisting the decision has yet to be finalized. (People familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, told Paste BN Sports that the official word is coming and that it’s just a matter of when, not if.)
Of course he’s going to handle this announcement his way.
When he does ride off into the sunset, Brady exits with the title of GOAT firmly in his possession, but not just because he won more Super Bowl rings than any other player in NFL history. Brady also owns the distinction of Greatest Of All Time because, as he orchestrated his legendary career, he grew to a place of empowerment that not only made his age-defying feats possible, but also provided a blueprint that has and will continue to propel other players towards advancement on and off the field.
Follow Paste BN Sports' Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones.