The NFL star is dad to three children: Jack, Benjamin, and Vivian.
Tom Brady is a proud family man, but he's still working on being the best father he can be. The 44-year-old NFL star got emotional while talking about his children during an episode of ESPN's Man in the Arena: Tom Brady.
Talk of Brady's family started early on in the episode when he reflected on his own upbringing and how his father, Tom Brady Sr., always put him first and is his inspiration.
"There's a big commitment that your parents make, and my dad made every commitment to me that was, you know, an amazing dad," Brady said. "There was never a moment where he didn't have time to support what I wanted to do and try to achieve because it's a hard thing to do."
Brady later opened up about his own experience with raising his three kids. The athlete is dad to Jack, 14, whom he shares with ex Bridget Moynahan, and Benjamin, 12, and Vivian, 9, with his wife Gisele Bündchen.
"I'm 44. I've got a family that I'm a dad to some amazing children," Brady said, wiping tears from his eyes. "When I think about being a dad, I think about him because of what my dad meant to me."
"I know I'm not as good a dad to my kids that my dad's been to me," Brady continued. "And I use them as my example of how to keep a family together and to care and to support and to love."
Brady went on to detail his hopes for his children, saying, "We want our kids to be happy. I want them to be respectful of people. I want them to be kind. I wanna make the world a better place."
"I think maybe what I'd wish for my children is to find something that they really love to do like I have," he continued, before pointing out that he might be a little too focused on his career as an athlete. "I think I have taken it to an extreme too, you know? There are imbalances in my life. And you know, I hope they don't take things as far as I've taken them."
Brady added, "I want them to experience great success in whatever they do, but there's a torment about me that I don't wish upon them."
The quarterback, who briefly retired following last NFL season, spoke about his desire to be more present in his kid's lives during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in November 2021.
"Thanksgiving there’s a lot to be thankful for. But you only get about four hours to enjoy it," he said. "Practice usually ends about 1 or 2 pm, you eat about 3:30 and then you're getting ready for the next day of practice. And then same thing with Christmas. So, you know, I'm looking forward to the time when I'm done playing football so that I can have some of those more normal holidays that I had growing up, that were important where the family's all together."
While Brady will be back on the field this season, it's clear he's striving to be a better father.
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