Tom Brady's Late Night Texts Have Everyone Talking

Super Bowl champ Tom Brady may have only joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as team quarterback in 2020, but he's quickly become a leader of the NFL team — in more ways than one. Not only did he help usher the team to its second Super Bowl win through sheer talent and years of experience, but he motivated his teammates in a simple yet seemingly effective way. Despite his talent as an athlete, it's also arguably worth noting that Brady has been a controversial figure throughout the years. Many have questioned Brady's long friendship with former President Donald Trump, although, in April 2020, the football star told radio host Howard Stern that the relationship had become "uncomfortable." And, of course, let's not forget "Deflategate," the controversy surrounding whether Brady, then the New England Patriots' quarterback, had the footballs deflated before the 2014 Super Bowl so that his team could have an advantage over the Indianapolis Colts. Still, whatever your thoughts on Brady, there's simply no denying that he's a winner. And he proved that again at Super Bowl 55 in Tampa on February 7, 2021, when he trounced the Chiefs 31-9. Now, some are chalking up the team's winning mentality to text messages Brady sent his teammates pre-game. Instead of pumping up his Tampa Bay Bucs teammates on the practice field before the big game, Tom Brady texted them beforehand, usually late at night, as running back Leonard Fournette revealed to WEEI Sports Radio Network. "He was texting us at 11 o'clock at night, 'We will win this game.'" So how exactly did Brady's teammates react to his positive mantra? Fournette explained, "It felt great. Just knowing his resume and understand why he wins. All week he made us believe we were going to win. We believed in him. We believed in the play-calling, what the coaches were calling and we just ran with it." And Brady wasn't just setting the team's intentions to win before facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs. As it turns out, he was also helpful with game strategizing. Tom Brady had specific strategies to share via text as well. For example, Fournette said that Brady reminded him that their opponent ranked poorly in one performance category in particular — yards after contact — so that was a weakness they should utilize to their advantage. Fournette continued, "Tom preached all week, [Kansas City] were 31st in the league in yards after [contact], yards after the catch, too. Their run defense wasn't that good. I take pride in that knowing those guys don't want to tackle. Sometimes you make a guy miss, but at the same time, punch them in the mouth and then at the end of the game they are not going to want to tackle and that is exactly what happened." Tom Brady is also known for pumping up his teammates before big games with motivational videos, and he did just that before the Tampa Bay Bucs hit the field for Super Bowl 55. He released the 2021 video on his social media channels about five hours before kickoff. His message was short but powerful: "In this journey, there is no final destination. There is only the next one. In the pursuit of perfection, the only thing that counts is the journey itself. The pursuit itself. And those who give their lives to it, this moment and the focus required to seize it, this fight and the commitment required to face it.” The video continues, "Because there's no such thing as perfect. There is only the relentless pursuit of perfection. That is our cause. That is what makes us a team. And that is why we're still here. So, once more into the fray. To live and die on this day." Brady ended his message with an enthusiastic: "Let's go!" So was it was those late-night texts, Brady's motivational video, or a Bucs team coming into their own that won them the trophy? Who can say? But congratulations to the winner, either way. #Football #SuperBowl #TomBrady