Here are some facts about Tom Brady, ranging from the begrudgingly impressive to the annoying: Tom Brady turned down at least $60 million more dollars to help his former employers, the New England Patriots, ensure they could surround him with great players; Tom Brady and the Patriots lifted the Vince Lombardi trophy six times; Tom Brady wakes up before most of us do, to begin a process of eating healthier than most of us do, which, despite being made easier by wealth, is still a temptation-riddled endeavor.
Tom Brady is married to a conventionally beautiful woman, Gisele Bündchen; Tom Brady is conventionally beautiful.
In the pursuit of greatness, something must give. Brady the athlete and businessman shares the same body as Brady the husband. The above list that demonstrates professional excellence could also be read as a bill that must come due. How does Brady balance the bill?
Happily Married?
Akshai Pai, writing for Meaww.com on Brady's interview on Howard Stern's Live, quoted Brady as stating "[Bündchen] felt like I would play football all season and she would take care of the house and all the sudden when the season would end, I would be like, 'Great, let me get into all my other business activities. Let me get into my football training.'"
With Brady leaving the housework to his wife, Bündchen wrote Brady a letter explaining flaws she saw in their marriage. In the interview with Stern, Brady stated he needed a therapist's help realizing that "it wasn't just about him."
With these causes for concern, we may question how well an already rocky relationship can handle a life-changing move from Massachusetts to Florida.
Potential Marital Strains In Tampa
Morgan Halberg, reporting for the Observer, stated that Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a $50 million, two-year deal.
This move resulted in Brady and Bündchen moving to a Davis Island compound referred to as "St. Jetersburg" by locals, as the 30,000 square foot, seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom home they are currently renting belongs to baseball great, Derek Jeter.
That sounds lovely, but, in contrast to the seclusion of their former Massachusetts home, the compound's location enables boats to pull up to Brady's backyard, and "people can crowd around the streets" (Halberg).
In the interview with Stern, Brady explained that one of Bündchen's sisters is living with them. With more interactions with unwelcome guests, along with the presence of an added family member, these are potential stressors on a marriage, and if the foundation is already unstable, there may be problems ahead.
Time Is The Enemy
Speaking with Stern, Brady recounted how Bündchen had to explain that she had "goals and dreams too. You better start taking care of things in the house," and that "of course [this schedule] works for you."
These are problems that lead to arguments and frustrations and regrets in the households of the rich, middle class, and poor. These are problems that humanize Brady, and these are problems many will examine until Brady's next public action allows fans to sympathize or defend, and opponents to revel or attack. In the absence of sports, we have time.
Brady is the oldest quarterback to appear in a super bowl; you do not achieve that without a near-constant dedication to craft and attention to your body's needs. Brady is also a successful businessman, and that, too, requires time.
If to achieve these requisites to maximize an aging body's potential, your time is dedicated to diet, exercise, and recovery, then of course, there is a cost. Time is a commodity, even for the wealthy and beautiful.
While there are implications of Brady's approach to interviews that we should debate, one thing we'd be remiss to ignore is his dedication to self-improvement, an attribute that can paradoxically prompt selflessness.
Committed To Growth, To Development
In the interview with Stern, Brady demonstrated an introspection that comes from a dedication to self-improvement, as he stated that both his and Bündchen's parents "provided a great foundation" that enabled him to stay "grounded by [his] family." "His family" includes Bündchen's parents, as Brady stated that they have been together for 50 years.
If her parents are a part of the foundation, then Brady, a goal-oriented individual, is dedicated to improving to reach that goal of 50 years.
When explaining that "a couple of years ago" he and Bündchen were having issues, Brady explained "I had to check myself," indicating an assumption of responsibility.
To "check himself," Brady committed to marriage counseling sessions that resulted in him missing Organized Team Activities with the Patriots (Pai).
While we can ponder whether a third-string QB would be afforded this time, Brady's example illustrates at least a willingness to act, to improve in a direction outside of a game.
Brady explained to Stern that, at one point, he did not want kids until his late 30s, as he thought he'd be finishing his career then, and that he did "not want anything to get in the way" of his career.
At 42, Brady is past when he thought his career would be finishing, and he has three children.
"Things change... they change for the better," Brady informed Stern. Of his wife, Brady explained that "we're growing in different ways."
We can celebrate the fact that Brady, too, struggles with human struggles, but we also have to note the embrace of change and growth into something different. With limited time and varying notions of "better," we navigate growth into something we hope is great.
While we can jokingly begrudge him his grammar, and should sincerely engage with his civics, we cannot begrudge him his dedication to self-improvement, to excellence, which may result in willfully losing time in one domain of life that we hold dear, and instead investing in an aspect of life deemed more precious.
We cannot all afford to tinker with our allocations of time to the level Tom Brady can, but we can recognize his dedication to the attempt.