Michigan legend Tom Brady on current college athletics landscape: 'The priorities are a bit messed up'

Former Michigan Wolverines football quarterback Tom Brady went 20-5 as a starter in college, before going on to win seven Super Bowls in the NFL. Having retired following the 2022 season, Brady will undoubtedly be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028.

Brady often credits his career at Michigan for setting up the success he had in the pros. He was buried on the depth chart to start, persevered, earned a starting job but was continued to be pushed, got drafted in the sixth round and learned how to climb the ranks in the NFL, too.

The 48-year-old joined Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt on ‘Big Noon Conversations,’ discussing, among many other topics, the current landscape of college football and how it relates to his time at Michigan.

The five-time Super Bowl MVP has been vocal about his concerns with how the unlimited transfer rule and NIL are shaping college athletics. He believes today’s youth may be missing out on experiences and lessons that they could benefit from long term.

“You look at your own personal experience with college football and the blessing that college football was for me and how it really propelled me into a successful professional career,” Brady said. “There were so many lessons that I learned in college about competition, about growing up, about responsibility and accountability, about team, about decision-making, about work ethic, about leadership.

“All of those sustainable traits that I learned at Michigan, through not only my doing, my experience, but watching some of the other incredible men that I got to be a part of on that team and teams that I was a part of, for my entire life I can look back on that and be grateful.”

In college, and subsequently throughout life, Brady faced adversity head on.

“I didn’t go to three different colleges,” the Michigan legend continued. “I didn’t leave college when it seemed like I wasn’t gonna play. I wasn’t at college to do anything other than have a great college experience, to go to school, to have camaraderie with my teammates and to compete at a high level. That’s really where the focus was. And at a young age, that’s where I think the focus needs to be.”

The focus now, Brady implied, is on the money and finding the path of least resistence.

“The commercialization of what’s happened in college sports, I wonder whether many kids these days will learn those sustainable traits that I think are invaluable to their life and life experience,” he said. “Are we doing them a disservice because we’re tempting them with some money in their pocket?

“It’s very intriguing to get that quick dollar. Look, we had a $400 scholarship check, and it seemed like I was rich. It really did. I’m sure most kids felt like that. We got pizza cards to go to dinner, and we had training table, and it was an amazing experience. We didn’t think about the money.

“These kids are at such young ages. Their frontal lobes aren’t even fully developed yet, and now we’re tempting them with real life, adult situations — and their parents, and now they have agents. I’m sure it’s a very confusing time, and I’m sure a lot of parents are confused, I’m sure a lot of kids are confused.

“But because we’re just talking about money, money, money, money … that’s the only value in college? Is that what we’re saying? To me, the priorities are a bit messed up.”

Would Tom Brady have stayed at Michigan if current rules were in place?

In the past, Brady has discussed how he considered leaving Michigan for California, but decided to stick it out after conversations with head coach Lloyd Carr and athletic counselor Greg Harden, who’d hammer home the point of making the most of his opportunities and not worrying about those he was competing with.

In those days, a football player would’ve had to sit out a year before becoming eligible at a new school. But if the current rules were in place, he would’ve been able to play right away. Brady was asked if he would’ve stayed at Michigan given the new transfer freedom that current athletes have.

“It’s such a hypothetical situation or question to think about,” the former Michigan quarterback said. “The only thing I could answer is to say that based on what my experience was, I wouldn’t want it any other way than the way that I did it.

“My college experience was very challenging. It was very competitive. The lessons I learned in college — and certainly about competition — those traits transformed my life as a professional. I was ready to compete against anybody, because the competition in college toughened me up so much that I had a self-belief and self-confidence that whatever I was faced with, I could overcome that.

“If we take that away from a young student athlete to say, ‘You know what? I know it’s tough to compete. But you know what we’re gonna do: Before you have to compete, we’re actually going to put you somewhere else so that you don’t have to compete.’ That is absolutely the wrong thing to do to a young child.

“And I would challenge all the coaches and all the parents, they’re the ones that have to guide these kids. You can’t expect a 17- or 18-year-old to make these great decisions. They’re young. They don’t have life experience. It should be the parents. Be a good parent! Teach your kid the right values! What’s gonna sustain them in their careers over a period of time? Whether it’s football or whether it’s business or whether it’s teaching or law school or medical school or a trade, whatever you want to do.

“You’re gonna have to go through hard things in your life, you’re gonna have to make tough choices. And the value isn’t always about the last dollar. All of these things that are happening in college sports, we’re prioritizing the wrong things. We’re valuing the wrong things.

“I’m not saying it’s not important. It’s one of 10 things that are important. And certainly, to me, it’s not the most important. So when kids do go through that the right way, they’re actually learning the right values. When you have the right values in life, that’s gonna sustain you as you move on through the rest of your life.”