On talks with Harvard Business Review magazine, Tom Brady gave away the unconventional methods the former NFL star used to motivate his Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ teammates.
“When I joined Tampa Bay, in 2020, the team was running a lot of screen passes, but we weren’t getting much yardage because the offensive line was missing too many blocks too often. I told the offensive linemen that every time we ran a screen play that gained more than 15 yards, I’d pay each of them $1,000,” Brady admitted in the interview.
Giving away money to your teammates might sound a bit odd, but the NFL icon had some hidden intentions behind it: “These were athletes making a lot of money, so $1,000 wasn’t that much to them. But the fact that I was paying them out of my own pocket meant something and motivated them to do better.
“Good team leaders go further and find ways of recognizing those who don’t play on the field yet support us in less visible ways. Football teams have big support staffs. To be a great team, everyone needs to feel valued, and it’s up to the leaders of the team to make sure that happens,” Brady said, addressing importance of how good leadership is a key part of every team building.
Brady’s performance with Buccaneers
In 2020, Brady took the NFL World by surprise. After 20 seasons with New England Patriots, the (at that time) 6x Super Bowl winner joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the age of 42.
Brady’s motivating methods seem to come to fruition: In his first season with the Bucs, he made history by getting his seventh Super Bowl ring after defeating Patrick Mahomes‘ Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. Tom kept breaking records, surpassing 600 career touchdown passes and leading the Buccaneers to multiple playoff appearances before announcing his retirement in early 2023.
Tom Brady’s new role in the NFL
Tom Brady forged an entire legacy in the NFL. After retiring in February 2023, this year he decided to make an outstanding comeback to the league, but now in a role off the pitch.
Brady started a new role as a football analyst for Fox Sports, making his debut on Week 1. Despite his status as an NFL legend and short time in the role, not everyone agrees with him: Already several personalities like Dak Prescott or insider Mike Florio, have already criticized Tom.