Tom Brady Takes Out His Frustration on 31 Team Scouts Who Didn’t Draft Him 25 Years Ago

Tom Brady may be done playing in the NFL (much to his chagrin), but he’s still living about as well as any former pro athlete can. He’s having fun at F1 events, golfing often, spending time with his sons, and living life on his own terms. Still, the sting of past rejections hasn’t completely faded.

Seven Super Bowl wins, five Super Bowl MVPs, three NFL MVPs, six All-Pro selections, and 15 Pro Bowls. More wins, yards, completions, and touchdowns than anyone in NFL history. Yet none of these accomplishments were enough to knock the chip off his shoulder or wash away the brackish feelings he still holds toward the 31 NFL teams that passed on him in the 2000 Draft. Brady’s draft slide was an all-timer.

He was never expected to be a top pick like Shedeur Sanders this year. But as he dropped all the way to the penultimate and sixth round, eventually going No. 199 to the New England Patriots, Brady was stewing in his own anger.

Brady became determined to prove everyone wrong. And boy, did he ever. But even after silencing the doubters with seven championships, at 47, he’s still taking shots at the GMs who skipped over him in 2000.

“So I had a decent college career, unbeknownst to any of the professional scouts. Those were real geniuses. (Laughs) And that draft card got turned in the sixth round, 199th pick overall. Of course, it was a lonely couple of days when I didn’t get picked in the first or second, or third round like I thought I was gonna get picked,” Brady said in a recent media event.

As a senior at Michigan in 1999, Brady was pretty solid. He led his conference, the competitive Big Ten, in both completion percentage (61.0) and passer rating (138.0). And yet, his physical traits didn’t excite scouts. They weren’t able to measure his grit, determination, and love for the game at the combine.

So, Brady had to find a way to let out the frustration.

“I had the baseball bat from that day that I was walking around the block and hitting trees and shrubs and anything that was near me as my parents walked in front of me and behind me, as a way to blow off steam. And then with the 199th pick, the Patriots called and said they chose me to be on their team, not necessarily their quarterback.”

All of that passion was on display right from the get-go. We’ve heard of many ways to blow off steam, but taking a baseball bat and searching out trees and bushes that looked at you wrong—while being chaperoned by your parents—has to be one of the funniest we’ve ever heard.

Brady was clearly making light of those tribulations here. But there is always some truth to every joke. Perhaps the fact that Brady never did get rid of that chip on his shoulder is why he’s had so much success in his post-football life. In any event, maybe it’s normal for football grudges to be held long after the events themselves are done.

Brady did just get booed by the City of Indianapolis (home of the rival Indianapolis Colts) a couple of weeks ago at the Indy 500. Clearly, he’s not the only one holding grudges.