‘Emotional’ Tom Brady left in tears while recalling his ‘tough’ NFL Draft process

Tom Brady became emotional talking about his draft (Image via IMAGO)

Imagine if the New England Patriots never drafted Tom Brady. Then, perhaps the football fans would have missed a great dynasty from coming into existence. Brady was sweating bullets during his draft in 2000 as several teams passed him.

After remaining undrafted for more than five rounds, a dreaded thought crossed his mind. During an interview with NFL Films in 2011, Brady became emotional when recounting his draft day. The Michigan graduate attended the event with his parents, who told him to have faith. However, Brady knew it was either playing the NFL as a quarterback or becoming a salesman.

Being downstairs for the fourth and then the fifth round, [and] that had been and gone, and all these other guys were getting picked, and it was hard. I remember taking walks [around the block] with my mom and dad. It was a tough day, you know. I just remember being there with my mom and dad, and, you know, they were just so supportive of me.

Tom Brady via NFL Films

The New England Patriots selected the now-46-year-old quarterback in the sixth round as the 199th pick. Brady remarked that once the Patriots picked him, he felt a sigh of relief about not having to become a salesman. The video of Tom Brady breaking down in tears recently gained traction on social media in 2024, a decade after the moment was captured.

 

The rest, as they say, is history. The Patriots dominated the NFL for nearly two decades. They won six Super Bowls, and Brady established himself as the greatest quarterback of all time with some signature performances.

Tom Brady Sr. shed light on additional information from his son’s draft day

Despite dominating the league for more than 20 years, Tom Brady‘s draft potential was not great. Several scouts designated him as ‘poor build, skinny, lacks great physical stature, and lacks strength.’ They further added that Brady lacked the mobility to avoid pass-rush situations and did not have a strong arm. The experts labeled him as a system-type player who might struggle to drive the ball downfield and could get exposed against elite defenses.
'Emotional' Tom Brady left in tears while recalling his 'tough' NFL Draft processTom Brady in the New England Patriots uniform (Image via IMAGO)
This had an adverse effect, resulting in teams avoiding him until the sixth round. Tom Brady Sr., in an interview with ESPN.com, revealed how the family felt when teams kept passing on his son during the draft.

We were led to believe that he was going to be drafted, possibly second round, probably third round. They kept calling quarterback names, [and] we kept being stunned. We were distraught. With each name, it was becoming worse and worse.

Tom Brady Sr. via ESPN

Brady played one game in his rookie year as a backup to starter Drew Bledsoe. He went to play for 20 seasons in Boston, winning six Super Bowls and nine AFC Championships. He left to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, where he won his seventh and final ring.

Before hanging up his boots for good in 2023, Tom Brady became the player with the most wins in the NFL with 251, most games won as a quarterback with 219, leader in completions, leader in passing yards, and most touchdowns (649).