As rumors swirl that Tom Brady’s commitment to football may be straining his family life, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is speaking out about the intense demands of the NFL season.
“I almost look at like a football season like you’re going away on deployment in the military, and it’s like, ‘Man, here I go again,’” Brady said during a recent episode of his podcast, “Let’s Go.”
His comment sparked controversy — especially within military circles. As Sarah Sicard argued in a piece for the Military Times, making millions of dollars playing football is actually quite different from risking your life overseas.
“While no one doubts the rigors of an NFL season — players face numerous injury risks, including traumatic brain injury — it is certainly no six months of hell confined to a tent or moldy barracks, eating MREs and bathing with baby wipes,” she wrote.
Several military members and veterans shared similar sentiments on social media.
“Tom Brady thinks playing football is like going on military deployment. We both wear a uniform, and our marriages/relationships can be strained, but the similarities end there. He plays a game to entertain people. We risk our lives to defend this country,” said one veteran on Twitter.
Even before Brady’s podcast comments began attracting attraction, the quarterback was having a bad week. NFL fans, including former players, have been questioning whether his heart’s really in it this season.
“It didn’t look like he wanted to be out there. Maybe it was the pressure, and he was getting hit and whatever was going on,” said longtime Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger about Brady’s latest performance, according to NBC Sports.
Brady’s Bucs are off to a 3-3 start in the 2022-23 NFL season. They lost to the 2-4 Steelers on Sunday 20-18.