It was one of the most memorable quotes Bill Belichick ever offered. When the Patriots selected Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Belichick remarked how we “all know Tom’s age and contract situation.” On this week’s “Man in the Arena,” Brady finally shares how he felt when he heard Belichick say those words.
Episode six of Brady’s ESPN+ streaming series focuses on the Patriots’ wild 2014 campaign, which began with proclamations of their demise and concluded with maybe the most memorable interception in Super Bowl history. Oh yeah, and there was also the birth of the Deflategate scandal, which started the morning following the AFC Championship.
Super Bowl XLIX was one of Brady’s best performances ever. He led the Patriots back from 10 points down in the third quarter and cemented his legacy as the greatest of all-time. It also quelled questions about Brady’s football mortality. Prior to the season, there were some legitimate concerns about whether Brady would start declining. Brady’s 2013 season was his worst since 2006.
When the Chiefs embarrassed the Patriots on “Monday Night Football,” Trent Dilfer, and many others, declared New England simply wasn’t good anymore.
That was the context surrounding Garoppolo’s presence. Brady, who was 36 at the time, says he understood the pick. But unsurprisingly, he still felt slighted.
“We drafted Jimmy, and I just thought like every other time, ‘Embrace him, he’s your teammate,’” Brady said. “We drafted Jimmy higher. Coach Belichick referenced my age to me, he referenced it the media. In my mind, I was thinking, ‘What are you talking about?’ And I think he was referencing that not many quarterback have played and been successful late in their career. That’s just a fact. For me, I was like, ‘I don’t care about any of those things.’”
We don't know a lot about Brady and Garoppolo’s relationship. Most people assume Brady probably wasn’t always warm, given his incredible competitive nature. Shortly after the Patriots had traded Garoppolo in October 2017, Seth Wickersham reported that Brady locked Garoppolo out of his TB12 facility.
By 2014, Brady was all-in on the TB12 Method. The New York Times’ Mark Leibovich wrote the first feature story about Brady’s philosophies — with a healthy dose of Alex Guerrero — in January 2015.
Brady said that was when he felt like he was really coming into his own.
“I didn’t think of myself as aging in a traditional way. I was really beginning to understand how to take care of myself,” he said. “I was really beginning to understand the game, how to study, be more efficient. I was really beginning to understand how to train, how to communicate more effectively with my teammates. Things were maturing in my life.”
Settled down with two kids, Brady and Gisele started building their $32.5 million Brookline mansion prior to that season. Brady never envisioned playing anywhere else. When discussing Garoppolo, Brady indicates for the first time in the series that he doesn't think he was, in Gisele’s words, appreciated at work.
“I really felt like I was giving my heart to the team, the city. I felt like I was setting down my roots, because I had committed to being in Boston, and I didn’t necessarily feel like that was being reciprocated,” Brady said. “But I recognize I’m no different than those other positions on the team. I still have to go out there and perform at a high level and earn my job.”
It's likely the ensuing episodes will further broach that topic.