Tom Brady had a historic NFL career with the Patriots and Bucs that every NFL quarterback would like to have as their own. He had three NFL MVPs, seven Super Bowl championships, five Super Bowl MVPs and several records broken in league history and two teams’ histories.

But for all the great things Brady did, even he has a regret during his time with the Patriots and Bucs that he would’ve done differently.

Brady was on “The Pivot” podcast hosted by Ryan Clark where he discussed his career, including the success and his one overall regret.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tom Brady Admits To A Regret In His Career

First Tom Brady spoke of his love for the game on the pivot.

“I wouldn’t say I took the success for granted,” Brady said. “Maybe I took some of the wins for granted, like in the playing career. I mean, the reason I fell in love with football was what you gave me earlier in the show, it was never to be a champion. I love just throwing the football.”

Then, he spoke about how he always put immense pressure on himself especially as he gained more success. Winning is fun, but it’s difficult to relax when there’s a lot of self induced stress to make sure you get the win that game.

“When I got older, I would enjoy practice more than the games because I felt like I had such high expectation in the game,” Brady said. “In practice, no one was watching. I could have a little more fun. I could be a little more lighter. Even when I look at myself later in my career, I had this face — it was a scowl — all the time. It was me just being super self-critical.”

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Brady’s high-end intensity and determination have been staples of his career. It was like clockwork knowing the Patriots would win double digit games each season, win their division and earn a first round bye when Brady was there. After the Bucs won the Super Bowl, that next season everyone expected to the Bucs to win each game, and most of the time they did, as they went on to break the franchise record with 13 victories that season.

Occasionally the public would see Brady with fiery passion getting into it with a teammate or smashing a tablet. But, those were the costs it took to also unlock the determination brought by him whether it was a 28-3 comeback in Super Bowl LI or proving he could come to Tampa and win a Super Bowl with the Bucs in his first season with the team.

Tom Brady’s Importance To The Bucs

There’s no question that Tom Brady changed the culture when he arrived in Tampa. His impact is still felt in the organization as his winning ways and commitment to being the best has been continued by the likes of Lavonte David, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and others that have been teammates with him.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Did Brady put too much pressure on himself? Only he can answer that, though it would also be fair to question if Brady wasn’t wired the way he was, would he have all the success. It was obviously an incredible career for Brady. It was intense in the moment, and he does wish he could’ve had a little more fun with it. In retirement, he’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor a little bit more.

“When I see these young players, I see like Patrick [Mahomes] out there at quarterback, running around, laughing, having fun, I’m like, ‘I used to be like that.'” Brady” said. “I just got too serious, but, again, I can only look back and think, ‘Okay, if I do it again, which I’ll never do it again, I would be different.’ But the reality is, you can’t.”

Check out the whole conversation with Brady and Clark from The Pivot in their episode.