“70s Were Tough on Everyone”: Shocking Difference Between 45 Y/O Tom Brady and 38 Y/O Kenny Stabler Stirs Up NFL Fans

The NFL used to be all about hardscrabble men who were the definition of toughness, especially in its heyday in the 1970s. It wasn’t about high-flying highlights; it was about bone-crunching hits. Iconic NFL images of that era included Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert’s toothless snarl and Philadelphia Eagles ‘backer Chuck Bednarik standing over unconscious golden boy Frank Gifford after delivering “The Hit”.

Offensively, it was guys like Oakland Raiders QB Kenny “the Snake” Stabler that set the tone. The game, however, has changed immensely since the days of Kenny the Snake, both in the rules of the game and in the way athletes approach their preparation in their off-field lifestyles. Heck, Stabler at 38 years of age, looked like he could’ve been 45-year-old Tom Brady’s father.

Back then, pro athletes could get by as elite players even if they didn’t take care of their bodies. Many were hard drinkers and big smokers. The technology and health science we use now to take care of our bodies were still decades off from becoming mainstream. Those players can certainly be excused for their hard-living ways. As fans online pointed out, these were truly “different eras, man.”

There’s a lot of speculation that Brady has had some work done on his face, but he’s also taken exceptional care of his body throughout his playing career. The future Hall of Famer was very particular about what he put in his body when and what kind of physical exercises he would put his body through.

The way he went about his work became known as the TB12 method. Brady has since parlayed that into his own brand, which sells snacks, performance meals, merchandise, and Brady’s training regimen. He even created a foundation under the TB12 banner to help underprivileged kids rehabilitate after injuries. His book based on the TB12 method was also a New York Times bestseller.

Brady uses a very regimented and strict plant-based diet. He goes to bed early, he does yoga and transcendental meditation, and he does a lot of resistance training. He avoids everything from fruits to mushrooms to coffee, as well as sugar, flour, peppers, and everything in between.

If Brady had tried to push a regimen like that in the NFL back in the 1970s, he would’ve been laughed out of the building. Players drank beers and smoked cigarettes in the locker room regularly in those days. Stabler and the Raiders were especially rowdy.

The Snake once said that the “monotony” of training camp was so bad that he wouldn’t have made it through without “whiskey and women.” Stabler also famously said that the Raiders were the only team to travel with their very own bail bondsman.

It wasn’t just the Raiders, however. There are tons of hilarious stories about the apathy of the 1970s NFL player when it came to ensuring their bodies were working at full capacity. One of the most infamous photos from that era is of Kansas City Chiefs QB Len Dawson smoking a cigarette and drinking a Fresca in the locker room at halftime of Super Bowl I.

Lambert was also well-known among the Steelers—who were one of the first teams to do team weight-lifting sessions—for his immense strength despite his hatred of lifting. The saying goes that he would often come in, do three sets of curls, three sets on the bench, light a cigarette, and walk.

The antics of the NFL player of the 1960s and 1970s would have health freaks like Tom Brady clutching their pearls. Their lifestyle and the times in which they lived allowed them to party hard off the field while still making history as future Hall of Famers on it.

With all we know about the body now, however, that age of hard-living pro athletes is certainly long gone, whether for better or worse.