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Tom Brady still has a full plate and plenty of drive after retirement

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Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

FILE - Then-New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady holds a Super Bowl trophy, between others the team previously had won, during a rally in Boston to celebrate the team's 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game in Houston, Feb. 7, 2017. The seven-time Super Bowl champion is enjoying retirement while staying busy. Hes preparing for his new 2024 broadcasting gig at Fox Sports, is set to become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, and is focusing on his apparel and wellness brands. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

Tom Brady may be really done playing football now, but his discipline and drive endure. The seven-time Super Bowl champion is enjoying retirement while staying busy. Heā€™s preparing for his new 2024 broadcasting gig at Fox Sports, is set to become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, and is focusing on his apparel and wellness brands. Heā€™s also dabbled in acting -ā€“ in the feature film ā€œ80 for Bradyā€ last year and in some funny new ads for Hertz rental cars with actor-comedian Yvonne Orji. Brady recently spoke to The Associated Press about his new projects, whether he still sticks to his strict healthy lifestyle, and if that drive extends to his parenting. Answers have been shortened for clarity and brevity.

AP: You have so many interests and jobs now, what do you get most excited about?

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BRADY: Itā€™s a big year of kind of recalibrating some different things. Iā€™m just trying to set my priorities and allow my time and energy to be focused on those. In the short term, itā€™s being there for my children and being the best dad I can be and being as present as I can with them. And some of these other things are probably more longer term: working with Hertz, I love doing that. I invest the time and energy in my apparel brand, my health and wellness brand obviously is so important to me. I have a small media business that Iā€™ve been really working hard at and then obviously working with Fox and then going through this process of ownership with the Raiders. All of them bring me joy in different ways.

AP: Why did you decide to invest in the Raiders?

BRADY: I grew up in the Bay Area. My favorite team was the 49ers. The team across the bay was the Raiders. And, you know, theyā€™re an iconic NFL franchise. When I look at a lot of the people that have impacted the NFL over a long period of time in the most positive way, (former Raiders owner and GM) Al Davis is one of them. And heā€™s not with us anymore but Iā€™ve heard incredible stories. And then the opportunity came about to become a minority owner in the Raiders, it was a dream come true for me. Iā€™ll be playing a very passive role. This is something that Iā€™m interested in doing for the rest of my life. This is not something that Iā€™m into it for a year or two years. You know, Iā€™ve got a lot of responsibility with my Fox job, which I take very seriously. But if Iā€™m looking over the course of my life, to have the opportunity to be involved in the NFL is a dream come true. And if I could help the NFL and continue to contribute in a positive way, then you know, thatā€™s been a very enjoyable part of my life.

AP: Were the new Hertz ads fun to shoot?

BRADY: We had the best day. We literally laughed for like six hours. Yvonne was on fire. She was ad libbing. And sheā€™s a very talented actress, very funny. So, I thought there were a lot of really cool, funny concepts that came out of it.

AP: You played yourself, but also kind of a straight man. Was that easy or hard?

BRADY: Thereā€™s an element of acting and I enjoy that part. I mean, itā€™s definitely not probably the most natural thing. I mean, Iā€™ve been obviously on camera for a long time so Iā€™m somewhat comfortable but itā€™s challenging to say, ā€œalright and action (snaps)!ā€ and now youā€™ve got to turn into a character. Even though the character may be me, itā€™s me playing me and not just me, you know? So finding a comfort level in doing that is, it takes a little bit of time, but the more I do it, the more comfortable I get.

AP: Are you the kind of dad who says ā€œletā€™s get summer homework doneā€ or ā€œgo see the fireworks and do homework laterā€ ?

BRADY: Itā€™s not the thing you want to hear when you get out of school after a long year, is to think about summer reading, but itā€™s our reality. So, letā€™s think about where weā€™ve got to be when school starts and letā€™s work our way back and make sure that weā€™re not cramming here with the last week to go. Weā€™ll set aside some time. But the kids have plenty of fun things ahead and weā€™ll make sure they cover their school bases and get away from it a little bit and allow them to be kids, too, because, you know, you only get to be a kid once.

AP: Have you loosened up on your strict eating and workout regiment now that youā€™re not playing football?

BRADY: Iā€™m pretty disciplined. (laughs) You know, I think it just became part of my daily routine. That was probably why I played so long was I enjoyed that process of working out a lot. I realized if I want to play football for a long period of time, Iā€™ve got to treat my body a certain way and I canā€™t cut corners. And now that Iā€™m done, retiring, my body feels really good. I feel like I still have a long life and I want to live a very active lifestyle, so Iā€™ve got to maintain a level of discipline. Thereā€™s definitely later nights than Iā€™ve had, maybe a few more tequilas than Iā€™ve had in the past, and certainly less throwing footballs than in the past. Those things are all a little bit new to me, but Iā€™m not going to stray too far from where Iā€™ve been.

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