Ahead of 2025 NFL Draft, 10x Pro Bowler Tells Travis Kelce Why He Chose ‘Fishing With Family’ Over Attending His Big Day

Travis Kelce has experienced it all as an NFL star — from winning multiple Super Bowls to navigating the whirlwind of Draft day with a late-round pick. But even he was taken aback when a Hall of Fame offensive lineman revealed where he was on Day 1 of the 2007 NFL Draft. Despite being a top pick and the event taking place in New York, he wasn’t there. Instead, he chose to spend the day elsewhere, missing one of the biggest moments of his career.

In the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, former Brown Joe Thomas stunned the Kelce brothers by sharing that he respectfully declined legendary scout Gil Brandt’s invitation to attend the Draft as a top pick.

It wasn’t nerves. It wasn’t about better opportunities. It was simply that Thomas had already made plans with his dad to go fishing. And that’s exactly what he did.

While the football world tuned in to watch the Cleveland Browns select the Wisconsin offensive tackle third overall, Thomas was off the shore of Lake Michigan, fishing pole in hand, honoring a Saturday tradition that meant more to him than walking the stage in Radio City Music Hall.

“I always had a tradition on Saturdays as a kid growing up that I would go fishing with my dad,” Thomas told Jason and Travis Kelce. “That was our thing. That was our time together.”

According to Thomas, his bold decision was rooted in his humble beginnings. Growing up, he didn’t fully grasp the significance of the NFL Draft because he didn’t have access to a TV to watch it.

“I never really dreamed of the draft,” Thomas admitted. “When I was a kid… I didn’t have cable. Maybe the draft was on TV, but I couldn’t find it.”

After grinding through the Combine and the pre-draft gauntlet, Thomas quickly realized that the months following the Draft would be his last window of peace before the chaos of NFL life began. So, when Brandt called with an invitation to New York, he humorously cut him off. “Bad news, Gil, but I already got plans on Saturday,” Thomas recalled saying to the scout. “Sorry, man. I’m going fishing with my dad.”

Travis Kelce was naturally stunned hearing the story, however, Jason Kelce saw the positive in it. “Do you know how much this entrenched you right away in Cleveland? It’s like—this dude’s going fishing with his dad and telling New York to f*** off? Yeah. Sign us up for this guy right now.”

That said, Joe Thomas wasn’t the first draft pick to prefer a lake outing over a podium speech. Steelers legend and 4x Super Bowl winner Terry Bradshaw, the No. 1 overall pick in 1970, was also baiting his hook when the league came calling.

“”The draft was no big deal back then. I thought I would go in the third or fourth round. It wasn’t on television. I was going fishing,” Bradshaw later recalled. “I had my truck, and I was pulling out of the driveway, and my dad stopped me and said, ‘Where are you going?’”

Bradshaw thought he’d go in the third or fourth round. Similar to Thomas’s story, the draft wasn’t on Bradshaw’s TV, and there was no media frenzy around it. But his dad did tell him to clean up — just in case. So, the NFL legend reluctantly threw on a jacket and tie. And as luck would have it, moments later, he was the top pick in the draft.

“It didn’t mean that much,” Bradshaw said. “I was coming to the worst team in the NFL.”

In hindsight, it’s crazy to think that two all-time NFL greats were out there fishing on the biggest day of their careers. This is especially wild when you consider how today’s pre-draft hype drags every prospect into interviews, suits, and all kinds of social media content.

Maybe in many ways, Joe Thomas and Terry Bradshaw remind us that greatness doesn’t need the spotlight. Sometimes, it starts waist-deep in water, casting a line with your old man.