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WNBA draft pick Veronica Burton gets congratulatory call from Tom Brady


Veronica Burton received a life-changing phone call Monday night when the Dallas Wings selected her seventh overall in the 2022 WNBA draft.

The next call she received wasn't too bad, either. 

"Hey Veronica, what's up?" Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said by phone in a video posted by the league. "I just wanted to congratulate you on being drafted." 

Burton, a point guard who led the Big Ten in steals in all four seasons at Northwestern, is a native of Newton, Massachusetts. Her father, Steve Burton, is a former Northwestern quarterback who became a reporter at Boston television station WBZ and has interviewed Brady for more than two decades. 

"I know the Burton family very well. I've known your dad a long time, your brother (Austin)," the seven-time Super Bowl winner told Burton. "Just know I'm always cheering you from afar and I wish you the best of luck.

“We know you embody everything about the spirit of the whole community,” he said. “It’s going to take you a long way in life, it’s going to take you a long way in your basketball career and it’s going to take you a long way with your family.”

In her senior season at Northwestern, Burton made history by becoming the first Wildcat to be named to the AP All-American team. She led the nation in steals per game (4.0), while averaging 17.8 points, 6.4 assists and 5.5 rebounds.

Burton's family sports quite the athletic pedigree. She and her two sisters played Division I basketball (one sister, Kayla, is a reporter for NFL Network). Austin Burton is a quarterback for Purdue. Virginia Burton, her mother, was an All-American swimmer at Northwestern. And her grandfather, Ron Burton, is a College Football Hall of Famer, thanks to a standout career at Northwestern. 

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca