Tom Brady Explains How Dropping Ben Off at Summer Camp Reminded Him of His Love of Football

Tom Brady shares daughter Vivian Lake, 10, and son Benjamin Reign, 13, with ex Gisele Bündchen and son John "Jack" Edward, 15, with ex Bridget Moynahan

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Photo: Taylor Hill/WireImage; Tom Brady/Instagram

Tom Brady is reflecting on a special parenting moment that resonated deeper than he expected.

Discussing the "emotional components" of deciding whether to come back to football each season on his Let's Go podcast, Brady told co-host Jim Gray and guests Roger Staubach and Steve Young about taking son Benjamin Rein, 13, to summer camp.

"I drop my son off at camp — he's 13 this year, at summer camp. It was just all boys, and they were all — there's no electronics, and they just got to go be kids," said Brady. "They swam, and they drew, and they played games."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, 45, then related the experience of camp to his feelings about being in the NFL.

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"I was driving away after the drop-off, and I'm like, 'damn, this is what football is like for me,' " Brady noted. "We all go eat in the same cafeteria, we're yelled at by the same coach. We're wearing the same stuff. We're still at camp."

Connecting it back to decisions about his career or any other players, Brady said, "It's nice to connect to that feeling when we all didn't have as much responsibility."

"The weight of life and the weight of the responsibilities of your life become more than — to value it, it's your cost-benefit analysis, so to speak. What am I giving up now, to continue to play, as opposed to what am I gaining?" he continued.

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"There's an emotional component to those decisions which do weigh differently on you as you get older because you just have more responsibility in your life."

"And that responsibility is amazing. Children are —there's nothing to me more important than my kids."

In addition to Ben, the quarterback, 45, shares daughter Vivian Lake, 10, with ex Gisele Bündchen. He is also dad to son John "Jack" Edward, 15, with ex Bridget Moynahan.

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