Over the last 16 or so months, Tom Brady has clearly taken a liking to Antonio Brown.
Despite his off-field issues, Brady has stuck by the wide receiver and helped him get his life back on track and now be in a Super Bowl once again. Brown was suspended for the first eight games this season, but signed with Tampa Bay in late October.
During his Super Bowl media availability Wednesday, Brady opened up a bit on his relationship with Brown.
“Antonio and I connected right away," he said. "He has a great love for the game. He’s a real perfectionist about how he plays, how he takes care of himself. Incredible football IQ. Again, a great skillset just as a player and I think made incredible strides over the last 12 months to get from where he was at to where he’s at now.”
Brady said helping people become the best they can be is something he really enjoys about sports.
“For me as an older player, I think the impact that I want to have as I continue to move forward is help other people maximize their potential," he said. "I feel like I am much closer to the end than the beginning. I have the ability to help people from my own experiences, to help them be the best they can be. I think that’s the enjoyable part. It’s one thing to throw passes, and that’s fun and all that, and I love winning and all that, but we all have lives. Everybody is dealing with life. It’s not always the easiest thing for all of us. You just try to provide some words of support, or advice, or again, care for people.
"I think that’s a really important thing that all of us need to do — we need to care for people more and allow people to blossom and be the best they can be because they trust you and you believe in them and you want to ultimately see them succeed. That’s the great part of sports. It’s a great part about life and investing time in people and seeing people grow is one of the great things about being a professional athlete, certainly an older professional athlete that is surrounded by a lot of younger players who I want to see them succeed.”
Speaking after Brady, Brown acknowledged the help he's given him over the last year.
“A lot of his help has helped me get to where I am at right now," Brown said. "Helped me grow as a person — physically, mentally, emotionally — and put some things into perspective. Sharpening my tools, making sure I have plans [to reach] my goals and not letting any outside noise diffuse that plan.”
In eight games with the Buccaneers during the regular season, Brown had 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns.
Brown did not play in the NFC title game due to a knee injury, but practiced on a limited basis Wednesday ahead of Super Bowl LV.