The top four quarterbacks picked in the 2023 NFL Draft played hooky from the first day of NFLPA rookie events to hear advice from one of the greatest to ever do it.
On Thursday, all three first-round picks Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, along with second-round draftee Will Levis had lunch with Tom Brady at Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin’s house to talk about entrepreneurship and brand building, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Rapper Travis Scott was also there.
“When something goes wrong with Trav, or Mike with his company, with me, the only thing you can do is work harder, man,” Brady told the next wave of QBs. “The only thing you can do is work harder. Defeats can’t make you work less hard. I think that’s the point. When s–t hits the fan, you gotta change the energy. You gotta put more into it. Never less into it.”
Brady put their starting points into perspective.
“Going in the second-round, in the end it’s not a big deal,” he told Levis, who famously slid during the nationally televised draft.
Brady’s advice to Young was similar.
“Going first overall, in the end it’s not a big deal. It’s great. You got opportunity. You are probably going to be paid more than anyone for a time period,” Brady said.
Brady, famously the 199th pick of the 2000 draft, drove home the point that it’s not about draft-day positioning.
“I just outlasted everybody,” he said. “How do I keep my edge on everybody? I had to keep working. I didn’t go ‘Hey, I’m good. I won three Super Bowls, I’m good.’
“Every day you’re gonna wake up and just keep attacking it. Be curious. Be humble and work hard.”
Brady retired “for good” at the conclusion of his 23rd NFL season in February, finishing with the Buccaneers on an 8-9 record and falling to the Cowboys in the Wild Card round.
The emotional announcement on Instagram came one year after he retired the first time — only to reverse course 40 days later for one more season with Tampa Bay.
“You only get one super-emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year,” Brady said in a Feb. 1 video. “I really thank you guys so much, to every single one of you for supporting me: My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream.”
Brady’s future still lies within the sport, as he is set to join Fox in 2024 on a 10-year $375 million deal as the network’s lead NFL analyst — and, perhaps, in the advice he’s doling out to the next generation of QBs.
