The Other Sport Tom Brady Was Drafted In Besides Football
Tom Brady is perhaps one of the most celebrated athletes in the NFL, as he is often called one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. But at the same time, Brady's also made plenty of headlines for his on-the-field behavior, like when he told Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to "Go f*** yourself," in a video that went viral on Twitter. That, or when he apparently got angry at his Tampa Bay receivers and shouted, "Gotta make a [bleeping] play when you're tired fellas," according to a tweet by Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud.
But at the same time, Brady also has his legions of fans, followers, and die-hard supporters. Even when he made the announcement that he was leaving the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in March 2020, per the New York Times, there were still some loyal New England Patriot fans who vowed to support Brady no matter where he'd go — simply because he's the GOAT.
While it's clear that Brady's supporters will always have his back, little do fans know that the multi-talented Brady was actually drafted for another league before he made it to the NFL.
Tom Brady almost became a pro baseball player
Sure, Tom Brady might be one of the biggest names in the NFL today, but his career could have certainly looked way different if he had stuck with baseball. That's because he was actually selected by Montreal Expos during the 18th round of the MLB Draft back in 1995. That's right: instead of throwing footballs across the field, Brady could have been throwing baseballs from the mound.
In 2016, Brady even shared a photo of his baseball draft card on Facebook and captioned it with, "21 years ago today I was fortunate to be selected by the Expos in the 1995 MLB Draft. But.....I'm so happy I stuck with football!"
Many of Brady's fans commented on his post with excitement and adoration, particularly in light of the revelation he was almost a pro baseball player. "I'm sure you would have gone down in history as the greatest catcher of all time!!!" one user wrote. "Wish I had that baseball card!!" another exclaimed, adding, "I'm sooooo glad you went with football, so are a whole lot of people."
So, exactly what happened that made Brady switch from baseball to football? The answer is quite surprising.
Even baseball players knew that Tom Brady's gift was in football
According to USA Today, even though Tom Brady was drafted to play for the Montreal Expos before anyone even knew that his name was, even his fellow teammates urged him to pursue a career in football instead.
In fact, F.P. Santangelo had a heart-to-heart with Brady in the locker room and apparently explained it to him like this (via ABC Action News): "We're like, 'Why in the world would you make $800 a month, play in front of 100 people in the minor leagues, riding buses for 10 hours, when you can play in front of 100,000 people at (Michigan's) Big House on Saturday?'" he asked, rhetorically, encouraging Brady to instead "enjoy [his] college experience." So, [Expos scout] John [Hughes]' experience [of Brady] kind of backfired. We were supposed to say 'Hey Tom, play baseball,' and we were like 'Hey Tom, play football.'"
And the rest, as they say, is history. And while it seems like Brady certainly did make the right choice, it would have been just as great to see Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen bring a little of their glamour to the MLB as well. Maybe that could be his alternate plan for retirement?