Everybody knows Tom Brady is the greatest of all time, but Robert Kraft says it was much more than Brady’s skill on the field that won him that title.
Kraft inducted Brady into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame this week, officially retiring his No. 12.
Brady delivered a speech about hard work.
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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft shakes hands with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during a ceremony honoring Brady at halftime of New England’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium Sept. 10, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Brady was the 199th overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, an afterthought compared to other quarterbacks from that class, many of whom are forgotten by now.
But Brady had a chip on his shoulder from day one.
“I remember him coming to us 25 years ago, and he came down the stairs during training camp. He had a pizza box, and he came over to me and said, ‘Hello Mr. Kraft, I want to introduce myself,’” Kraft recalled Friday on “Jesse Watters Primetime.” “I said, ‘I know who you are. You’re Tom Brady.’
“And he looked me in the eye and said, ‘I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.’ I’ve never met anyone like him in my life.”
Tom Brady and New England Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft during the induction of Tom Brady into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame June 12, 2024, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Brady is unique in that no one was willing to sacrifice more for the team than him.
“Players want to earn money and earn as much as they can. We have a salary cap, so when he really had won three Super Bowls in his first four years with us, I said, ‘We’ll give you [a new contract], but I wish you’d take 30% less, because … it’s gonna go around to other players to make you better.’ He’s the only player in my history who would take less money to make the team better.”
There was one more quality about Brady that made him a winner, and Kraft says it could be a lesson for all.
Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, right, embraces Patriots owner Robert Kraft, center, as Patriots President Jonathan Kraft, left, looks on during halftime ceremonies held to honor Brady at a game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sept. 10, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
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“Tommy articulated it beautifully. If you want to win, it’s really a team sport. It’s not individual, and you better get along with all kinds of people of all backgrounds,” Kraft said.
“We need more of that in America today.”
The duo won six Super Bowls in New England before Brady won one more with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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