The Conflicting Worldviews of Tom Brady and Scottie Scheffler

Most football analysts agree that Tom Brady, the legendary quarterback who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the greatest player in NFL history. Personally, I still give the nod to Jim Brown, but I admit that I am in the distinct minority. After all, it’s hard to argue with a man who owns virtually every passing record in the books along with three regular season MVP awards and five Super Bowl MVP awards.

However, a man isn’t judged simply by what happens between the sidelines and from one end zone to the other. Real life exists outside the football stadium, where 80,000 delirious fans are chanting your name and cheering your every move.

Tom Brady said as much in a June 2005 interview with 60 Minutes’ Steve Kroft…

“There’s times where I’m not the person that I want to be. Why do I have three Super Bowl rings, and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think: God, it’s gotta be more than this. I mean this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be. I mean I’ve done it. I’m 27. And what else is there for me?”

Kroft followed up by asking, “What’s the answer?”

Brady’s response was simply, “I wish I knew. I wish I knew…”

I remember watching that interview live and literally screaming at the TV, “You need Jesus, Tom. THAT’s what is missing in your life. THAT’s what you have been searching for. And THAT’s why you will continue to feel empty and unfulfilled – no matter how many championships you win and how many accolades you receive – until you trust Him as your Lord and Savior.”

At the time of that interview, Brady had three Super Bowl wins under his belt, which means he still had four more to go. He was blessed with movie star good looks, was married to a super model named Gisele Bündchen, and perhaps most irritatingly to hackers like me, played golf to an 8-handicap.

From all outward appearances, he had it all… and yet, there was a giant hole inside of him that seemed to grow larger with each passing year.

Hoisting another Lombardi Trophy and wearing yet another championship ring didn’t seem to help. In fact, in a strange way, they only seemed to make things worse, because achieving them simply reinforced what Tom already knew – that all of these superficial things were transitory and lacked any real meaning.

And so, on February 1, 2022, Tom Brady announced his retirement from professional football after 22 seasons in order to spend more time with his wife and children. Sadly – and rather ominously – his retirement lasted just 40 days.

Brady just couldn’t stay away from football because he had no identity away from the gridiron.

Reportedly devastated by Tom’s decision to unretire, Giselle and their children moved out of the house in August of that year and by October, their divorce was finalized, ending their 13-year marriage.

On February 1, 2023, after one last season with the Bucs, Brady announced on social media that he was retiring "for good". Today, he spends much of his time in the announcer’s booth or on the golf course.

Now, compare and contrast Tom Brady’s elusive search for the meaning of life with someone who has already found it.

Scottie Scheffler isn’t as good at football as Tom Brady, but he’s a whole lot better at golf. In fact, he’s been ranked #1 in the world for the past 152 weeks. The winner of two Masters tournaments (2022 and 2024), Scheffler added the PGA Championship and the Open Championship this year to give him four career majors… and he’s still only 29 years old.

Nineteen years Tom Brady’s junior, Scheffler gave an interview recently that raised as many eyebrows as Brady’s did on 60 Minutes in 2005.

"I don't know why I'm so lucky that I get to live out my dreams, but it's something I'm very grateful for,” he began. "Yeah, this is amazing to win the Open Championship, but at the end of the day, having success in life, whether it be in golf, work, whatever it is, that's not what fulfills the deepest desires of your heart. Am I grateful for it? Do I enjoy it? Oh, my gosh, yes, this is a cool feeling...but at the end of the day, it doesn't fulfill the deepest desires of my heart."

Wow! Can you imagine winning the coveted Claret Jug, the oldest championship trophy in golf, and then telling a roomful of reporters that doing so isn’t all that satisfying?

Believe it or not, Tom Brady jumped all over Scheffler for his comments, questioning his priorities as well as his commitment to the sport. But what Brady failed to understand is that Scottie has actually figured out what life is all about – at a much younger age – while Tom remains clueless to life’s deeper meaning as he approaches his 50th birthday.

"I would say my greatest priorities are my faith and my family," Scheffler went on to say. "Those come first for me. Golf is third in that order. I've said it for a long time, golf is not how I identify myself. I don't identify myself by winning tournaments, chasing trophies, being famous or whatever it is."

It seems to me that Tom Brady could take a few lessons from Scottie Scheffler… and not just on the golf course.

To read another interview by Scottie Scheffler on this same subject – this one on the eve of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland – please click on the following link: https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/45745697/scottie-scheffler-take-success-golf-point

Editor's Note: If you are struggling to find the true meaning of life, I invite you to read the Gospel of John and discover the abundant life that Jesus desires for each and every one of us. No, that doesn't necessarily mean worldly prosperity, but it does mean inner peace in this life and eternity with God in heaven in the next.

If you don't have a Bible or a Gospel of John, please let me know and I will be glad to send you one free of charge.