Tom Brady

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

When Brady tried out for the University of Michigan football team, he was seventh on the depth chart. The likelihood of him ever playing was less than slim or none.

He never played a down in his first two years, sitting on the bench while another quarterback, Brian Griese, started every game. By his junior year, he was competing with another quarterback, Drew Henson, for snaps.

Drafted in the sixth round by the New England Patriots, he was as likely to play as I was. Sixth-round draft picks rarely get on the field.

No, this is not an article about perseverance. It’s a story about how, as an employee of the firm, he made sacrifices and career decisions that benefited him.

For most of his career, despite all the success that he had with the Patriots, he was nowhere near the highest-paid quarterback in football despite leading the team to so many Super Bowl victories. Instead, he agreed to accept less money to have a quality roster of players around him that would help the team win.

Eventually, he caught wind of a plan to replace him as the quarterback and persuaded the team’s owner to eliminate him through trade as his competition. He used his power to protect himself.