Tom Brady Explains Why He Thinks the NFL Is Full of ‘Mediocrity,’ Says ‘We Dumbed the Game Down’ to Play Rookie QBs

Tom Brady thinks that the NFL is regressing a bit — and it’s not the fault of the players.

In a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith at Fanatics Fest, Brady was asked to explain a previous comment he made to Smith months ago when the former player said that he thinks “there’s a lot of mediocrity in the NFL.”

In answering the question, Brady pointed to the lack of development in players. “Ultimately, the development of the players is the most important thing in the NFL,” he said. “If you want football to be good, you’re going to want to develop these players every single year and the reality is that we don’t have the processes in place to help those players be better year after year.”

“They may maintain, they may get slightly better,” Brady continued. “But not at the improvement levels that we were able to make when I was a younger player.”

Brady continued, explaining the differences that made players develop better when he was new to the league. “We had way less distractions, there were more opportunities during the offseason to train, there were more opportunities in training camps to train,” he said. “There was more opportunity than the regular season to train.”

Later in the conversation, Brady revealed that he thinks Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league. “I see the way that he’s endeared himself to his teammates,” said Brady. “I love to see the rapport he has with his teammates,nwith his coaches, how he communicates.”

Brady also believes rookie QBs are not being developed properly.

“I think it’s just a tragedy that we’re forcing these rookies to play early, but the reality is the only reason why they are is that we’ve dumbed the game down, which has allowed them to play,” he said.

During Brady and Smith’s last conversation from last year, Brady expressed how he felt the NFL of today was inferior to what existed in the past. “I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past,” he said. “I don’t think the coaching is as good as it was. I don’t think the development of young players is as good as it was. The rules have allowed a lot of bad habits to actually get in the performance of the game. I just think the product in my eyes is less than what it’s been.”

Brady’s all about football talk right now, but he recently revealed that he's really focused on is getting his kids ready for school. In a conversation with People, he revealed that he’s “getting them prepared to go back to school where they should be, learning and getting back with their friends and getting back to a better rhythm.”