Howard Stern is Howard Stern. Anyone who knows the 66-year-old radio personality knows he's crude, straight-forward, and is hands-down the best interviewer in the business. The biggest and brightest stars found themselves opposite the New York City native over the years, including a lifelong fan of the The Howard Stern Show and co-host Robin Quivers, newly-minted Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady spent over two hours with Stern in early April as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 permeated the globe. Topics ranged from how Brady was keeping busy after moving into Derek Jeter's mansion to his expectations for this new challenge and chapter in his Hall-of-Fame career.
Tom Brady's Howard Stern Interview
"I don't think there was a final, final decision until it happened," Brady told Stern on his decision to leave New England and enter free agency. "I probably knew before the start of last season that it was my last year. I knew that it was just — our time was coming to an end."
Over 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, Brady captured six Super Bowl titles, made 14 Pro Bowls, won three MVP awards, and holds numerous NFL records, including regular season and playoff wins, passing yards and touchdown passes with one team, and almost every Super Bowl record you could imagine.
Not bad for the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Brady Talks Rob Gronkowski's Penis
RELATED: Joe Namath Explains Why Tom Brady is the Greatest Ever
Later in the interview on SiriusXM, Stern revealed his reason for not playing sports was the locker room culture and not wanting other people seeing his (to put it scientifically) penis.
As a 20-year veteran in NFL locker rooms, Brady laughed that "every guy's penis looks the same" and you just get used to it.
When it came to former teammate and tight end Rob Gronkowski, locker room hijinks were part of the full Gronk experience.
"Gronk, I mean, that guy is like a Greek god, his body. That guy is just jacked up.
"It'd be funny because Gronk would get naked and literally throw his towel over his shoulder and just walk through the locker room with all the reporters, and I would just laugh because Gronk obviously he didn't give a s***. He'd just strut through."
Stern peppered Brady with his typical Stern-ish questions. They talked about his love life with wife Gisele Bundchen, addressed the "wrong assumptions" of head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots' organization, and even dished on if Brady views himself as the best player ever. (As you'd expect, Brady was humble and dismissive to calling himself the greatest.)
To close the interview, Brady offered the most powerful quote one man could give another, and it aimed directly at Gronk's genitals.
"It's amazing. It's exactly what you'd expect it to be."
Tom Brady's Marriage Problems
In a telling part of the podcast, Brady revealed a very human, real aspect of his seemingly "perfect" life that struck a cord with many listeners who tuned in that Wednesday morning.
The 42-year-old talked about how he and his wife struggled to make a connection at the height of his playing career. Brady admitted his role as a husband and father wasn't being fulfilled, and Gisele asked him to skip offseason OTAs to be with the family more.
"A couple years ago, [Gisele] didn't feel I was doing my part for the family. She felt like I would play football all season and she would take care of the house, and then all the sudden when the season would end, that I'd be like, 'Great, let me get into all my other business activities. Let me get into my football training.' And she's sitting there going, 'Well, when are you going to do things for the house? When are you going to take the kids to school and do that?'
"She wasn't satisfied with our marriage, and I needed to make a change in that. ... Her point was, 'Of course this works for you. ... but it doesn't work for me.' I had to check myself. Because she was like, 'I have my goals and dreams, too.'"
In the short term, Brady's new two-year deal with the Bucs and coach Bruce Arians still doesn't seem like his farewell tour given his training regiment and current health. But this big transition revealed the man behind the facemask and the support of his family back home that await him.
Football doesn't last forever, but family does. For all the success and fame and accolades, a lot of loyalty for Brady remains the strongest with his wife and two children.
