What Tom Brady's "Will He/Won't He?" Situation Can Teach Managers and HR Departments

A causal conversation with a friend the other day got me thinking about Tom Brady's current situation - and the first thing that came to mind for me was "I wish managers would learn from this!"

Tom Brady - the GOAT.

I never really closely followed the NFL but even I knew he is considered one of the greatest players to have played in the NFL - up there with Joe Montana. Brady wasn't always considered this great however. He was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, was a backup quarterback for his first two years, and was by no means the player to watch out for. How did he go from being the 199th overall pick to becoming the GOAT? Brady's success has been attributed to his incredible work ethic, dedication, and excellence.

Let’s take a look at Tom Brady’s career. 

The 42 year old has been a Quarterback for the New England Patriots for 20 years - something truly fascinating considering the average NFL career lasts around 3.3 years

and the average age of an NFL player is 26 years old. It seems Brady has been able to defy time with his extraordinary dedication.

During his 20 year career with the Patriots, Brady worked closely with coach Bill Belichick, who is widely considered as one of the greatest NFL coaches, to create a dynasty. Prior to the Brady-Belichick era, the team had only appeared in (and lost) 2 Super Bowls. Since the dynamic duo got together, the Patriots have appeared in 9 Super Bowls, of which they have won 6. Seems like a pretty good team to me! The magic that they created is now dubbed "The Patriot Way", and it's a culture that focuses on holding people accountable, continuous improvement, and a focus on team success over personal gain (keep this in mind because I will come back to this point).

It's clear that the 4 time Super Bowl MVP player, who has never had a losing season as a starting quarterback, has enjoyed a pretty impressive career with the New England Patriots. Nonetheless, however amazing his 20 year career might have been, it was definitely not one without troubles. Over the years, Brady has willingly taken pay cuts in order to dedicate funding towards finding the right talent. He sacrificed the money as long as he had the right players by his side. A sign of true leadership - and definitely doing things "The Patriot Way" - taking one for the team and focusing on collective success over individual gain. 

He did this because he’s maintained the same goal he’s had since day one: WINNING. 

He was happy to do this when he had Rob Gronkowski, the now retired tight end by his side on the field. The pair worked exceptionally well together, as Gronkowski has received the most passes from Brady. With Gronkowski gone, fans noticed a significant difference in Brady’s play. 

Let’s also look at the Alex Guerrero incident - Alex Guerrero was Brady’s trainer, business partner and friend. Over the years he’s worked with Brady and other Patriots players and his alternative training methods have been praised by players for years. This resulted in him having access to the team, even though he wasn’t an official employee of the organisation. Then, suddenly, Belichick revoked his rights - he was no longer allowed on the patriots jet, on the sidelines in games, and was now only allowed to treat Brady. Surely that had to sting.

Where does all this leave the NFL star? 

Let’s look at Brady’s current situation - he’s now a free agent, meaning he can sign to any team. There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether he’ll stay with the patriots until he retires (which, if Brady has his way, won’t be for another few years) or join another organisation. There’s a mix of opinions out there. First, you have the fans who say he’s loyal to the organisation and he’ll stay. Then there’s those who say he’s not getting the support he needs and he’s shopping around. There’s also people speculating that the Las Vegas Raiders will be welcoming a new quarterback, come March 18. A few have also pointed out that Brady might be using all of this as a power play, to negotiate his new contract with the Patriots - not too different to what LeBron James did when he became a free agent and signed with the Lakers. 

I turned to my friend, and the biggest Patriots fan I know, Talal Al Moawad and this is what he had to say: 

“I think Brady wants respects from the Patriots - and I don’t think he feels like he’s getting it. Respect can come in different forms, whether it’s his contract annual value, or the length of the contract, or allowing his trainer on the field. I feel like Tom Brady thinks he’s being pushed along year by year, not given long term commitments, and not getting paid what he deserves to be paid. I think this may cause him to leave” 

Considering the above, doesn’t this sound a lot like a disgruntled employee? As a recruitment consultant I speak to so many candidates and clients. I often wonder why a candidate is now telling me "I’m looking for a job" after spending 15 years at company X. Sometimes, it’s purely the case of cabin fever and wanting to be in a new environment. But I’ve found, more often that not, it’s the case of employees being fed up. Ideally, we’d like to think people will remain loyal. We’d like to think Brady will retire having only played with the Patriots. We’d like to think an employee whose been with an organisation for 15 years wouldn’t consider moving to any other company, let alone a competitor. But we don’t live in an ideal world - at the end of the day - it comes down to business - and business is only good if all the parties involved are benefiting.

Based on what I’ve been reading about this topic, this is where I stand. I can’t speak for Brady, but I can see from the outside in, it looks like an employee who is tired of making sacrifices (taking the pay cuts) but not getting what he needs (Alex Guerrero on the sidelines). It looks like an employee who wants a seat at the table (a decision in the players the team brings on). 

This definitely got me thinking - managers, and HR departments, if you want your employees to be loyal, and be there for the ups and downs at work, to consistently work and give you winning seasons, can you confidently say you’re giving them what they need? Are you aware of what they need? Job ads are something I see a lot of at work - and I can’t count the number of companies that claim they have a “great family like working culture”, “office perks”, “value employee feedback”, “flexible working hours” and so on. They all sound great. Sadly they don’t always deliver on their word. 

If you’re going to invest your time, money and efforts into developing high caliber employees, like Belichick did with Brady, make sure you’re not risking losing them because you’re not listening to their needs. Disclaimer: this doesn’t mean every employee request needs to be met. I managed an HR department in my previous role and I certainly didn’t give in to every request. That being said, employers and employees can reach a happy medium, where everyone’s voice is heard. 

After all, in the business world, everybody is a free agent.