Even in retirement, Tom Brady continues to get better with age.
The seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback capitalized on his chance at redemption in the 40-yard dash. At the end of a workout in a video for NOBULL, the 46-year-old ran a 5.18 40-yard dash, shedding a tenth of a second from his 40-yard time when he ran it at the NFL Combine in 2000 (5.28). Another person who tracked Brady’s time in the video had him at 5.12.
“24 years later, redemption is spelled T O M,” Brady wrote in a social media post sharing the video.
Brady’s performance at the 2000 NFL Combine became legendary as his NFL career flourished. The annual event allows draft prospects to show off their athleticism, strength and speed, but Brady didn’t show much of that 24 years ago. His 40-yard time ranks among the slowest at the combine for a quarterback since 2000. He also recorded a 24.5-inch vertical and a 99-inch broad jump, which both rank in the third percentile or worse among quarterbacks who’ve tested at the combine. Brady’s physique in his workout pictures has also been mocked over the years.
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His performance at the combine no doubt was a factor in Brady falling to the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, when the New England Patriots selected him with the 199th overall pick.
Before the 2017 combine, Brady reminisced about his combine performance and how it motivated him.
“I found my combine shirt from 17 years ago and it got me thinking,” Brady wrote in a social media post in 2017. “This is what they said about me then….. Poor build, Skinny, Lacks great physical stature and strength, Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush, Lacks a really strong arm, Can’t drive the ball downfield, Does not throw a really tight spiral, System-type player who can get exposed if forced to ad lib, Gets knocked down easily.
“As [Julian Edelman] always reminds me … ‘You can prove em right or you can prove em wrong!’ Good luck to all of you this weekend!!”
Brady, of course, had the last laugh, playing in 10 Super Bowls and winning seven titles and three NFL MVP awards before retiring in 2023. But Brady still seems to have something to prove, writing in a social media post Thursday that he’ll run a sub-5.00 40-yard time in 2025.
“Next year it’s going to be faster,” Brady said at the end of the video.
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