If you’re not totally convinced Tom Brady is human, well, you may be onto something.
Brady performed brilliantly down the stretch in Super Bowl LI, leading the New England Patriots on three touchdown drives in the fourth quarter and overtime to stun the Atlanta Falcons. He also took quite the beating: The 39-year-old quarterback played a ridiculous 99 snaps, was sacked five times and took nine QB hits.
That’s a lot of punishment for a player of Brady’s age to endure. So, when the MMQB’s Peter King caught up with Brady just seven days after the Patriots’ fifth Super Bowl title, he expected to find the 17-year veteran in a world of hurt. Instead, he found the opposite.
“I have zero pain,” Brady told King at the QB’s cabin hideaway in Montana. “I feel great. I feel 100 percent.”
That’s pretty remarkable for a guy who just went through the rigors of an NFL season. Yes, Brady missed the first four games of 2016 due to Deflategate, but he played three additional games in the playoffs, and any NFL veteran will tell you they never feel perfectly healthy until well into the offseason.
Of course, Brady isn’t just any NFL veteran; he’s taken meticulous care of his body in recent years through an intense diet and exercise regimen. Brady turns 40 next August and will be entering his 18th NFL season, but if you think he’s retiring soon, this should be all the evidence you need that he plans on sticking around for a while.
Brady’s full interview with King is worth a read, as he explained why Super Bowl LI wasn’t his greatest game ever and provided insight into several key plays of the crazy comeback.
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
