Tom Brady is officially humbled – and his own kid did the humbling.
The retired NFL quarterback posted on Instagram this week with a playful plea to USA Volleyball. “I think I need a coach just to keep up with this one,” Brady wrote, tagging the national organization and asking if there was room at camp this year. A laughing emoji, a volleyball, and a fire emoji closed out the message.
Brady didn’t say which child he meant – just “this one.” He has three kids: son Jack, 18, with actress Bridget Moynahan. He also shares two children with his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen – son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13. Any one of them could apparently hold their own on a volleyball court well enough to leave a seven-time Super Bowl champion asking for help.
That’s a remarkable thing to type. It’s also very on-brand for the Tom Brady people have been getting to know since his retirement.
Brady stepped away from the NFL in February 2023. He’d played 23 seasons in total. He’s been vocal about putting family front and center ever since. He shows up at his kids’ events, talks about fatherhood with real warmth, and channels that competitive instinct into cheering for his children now rather than outrunning a defense.
What makes this particular post so endearing is the cheerful self-deprecation. Brady spent over two decades being the most prepared person in any room. He won seven Super Bowl rings through discipline and an almost relentless will to improve. Watching him admit a kid in his household has outrun him on the volleyball court is funny for exactly that reason.
He’s not being passive about it, either. Tagging USA Volleyball with a camp inquiry tells you the problem-solving brain is still very much on. He’s just laughing at himself this time.
USA Volleyball hasn’t publicly responded to the tag. A mention from Brady’s account, though, is never bad for visibility.
Post-retirement, Brady holds a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s also been active in media and business. But it’s moments like this one – unscripted and a little goofy – that tend to land best with people.
Brady’s NFL career is its own category. Seven Super Bowl championships – four with the New England Patriots and three with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – make him the most decorated quarterback in football history. He won his final title at age 43. He played until age 45. The records are genuinely staggering.
And now one of his kids has him calling for a volleyball coach.
The greatest quarterback the game has ever seen is out here asking a national sports organization for a camp spot. A teenager at home left him in the dust. He’s got the emojis to prove he’s taking it well.
Sounds about right for Dad Brady.
This story originally appeared on Celebrityinsider
