Tom Brady discusses dealing with Super Bowl defeats

Tom Brady retired in February 2023 as a seven-time Super Bowl champion and five-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Thus, it may be easy for some to forget that Brady lost on the NFL's biggest stage on three occasions during his New England Patriots tenure that lasted from 2000 through the 2019 season. 

Brady spoke about coping with those disappointments during the latest edition of his "Let's Go!" SiriusXM show and podcast. 

"You can't change the outcome and you gotta live with it," Brady explained, per Scott Polacek of Bleacher Report. "Part of being on the great stage is you have a great opportunity to win a ring. The opposite side of that coin is the most difficult loss of your career. Sometimes you've gotta risk a lot, which is a tough loss that you're gonna have to live with, in order to gain something that only one team can achieve."

Brady and the Patriots famously entered the Super Bowl XLII matchup versus the New York Giants holding a perfect overall record of 18-0 before Big Blue stunned New England 17-14. Four years later, the Giants defeated the Pats 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. 

In total, Brady collected zero championship rings after he hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy in February 2005 until the Patriots knocked off the Seattle Seahawks to win Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015. 

"The only thing I would say from that is that every loss I was a part of motivated me to try harder and do better," Brady added during the segment. "And it gave me the perspective that when we did win again, as I did after a 10-year absence of not winning, I appreciated that win more than any other win in my career."

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was serving as offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons when Atlanta blew a 28-3 lead against Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LI back in February 2017. More recently, Shanahan's Niners squandered double-digit advantages versus the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV and during Super Bowl LVIII this past Sunday. 

Perhaps Shanahan will mention Brady's comments when 49ers players get together for springtime workouts later in the offseason.