There was a time when quarterbacks entered the NFL with years of reps in pro-style systems—reading defenses, calling audibles, commanding huddles. Stars like Steve McNair, Carson Palmer, and even Aaron Rodgers sat and studied before starting. Today, rookies are tossed in by week 1, often straight from college schemes designed to mask weaknesses, not build mastery.

Playbooks are simplified, sideline control is tighter, and development takes a backseat to quick results. Some evolve into stars. Others fade fast—just another rookie thrown in too soon. And for NFL legends like Tom Brady, who put together a 23-year career, these things are a bit concerning.

Quarterbacking has gone backward in the NFL

Tom Brady knows a thing or two about playing quarterback. With seven Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl MVPs, and 15 Pro Bowl nods, he built a career on mastering the position from the inside out. But that era, he suggests, looked very different from today’s game. Quarterbacks were once true field generals—trusted to read defenses, adjust plays, and lead with autonomy.

Now, Brady sees that control shifting to the sidelines, with coaches micromanaging the game and, in his view, stunting the growth of the next generation of quarterbacks. This results in QBs constantly failing on the field to make their own decisions, and taking a less leadership role. “I think the quarterbacking has gone backwards a little bit in the NFL.” Brady pointed out.

“I don’t think it’s improved, I don’t think the teaching’s improved…I think now, there’s this try-to-control element from the sideline between the coaches, where they want to have the control. And they’re not teaching and developing the players the right tools so that they can go out on the field and make their own decisions that are best suited for the team.”

Sure, there is no shortage of top-tier quarterbacks in the league. Stars like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, under smart coaches like Andy Reid and John Harbaugh, are thriving. But teams without a franchise quarterback are going south. However, Brady believes that the reasons behind those issues are the lack of proper development at colleges.

From college programs to playbook shortcuts: Tom Brady shares what’s missing in QB development

Before being a starter at Michigan, Tom Brady served as a backup behind BrianGriese. During his five-year collegiate career, Brady learned a pro-style program—drop-back pass, reading defenses, to read coverages, and of course, to be coached. Then in New England, he was a fourth-string quarterback in his rookie season, where he developed under master coach Bill Belichick, before winning a Super Bowl in his first starting season.

That was the journey of Tom Brady, developing in a college football program to an NFL program. But things have changed rapidly in this scenario as well. Instead of college programs, there are college teams. And instead of learning a program, QBs are learning a playbook to win, while the coaches are expecting them to start in their very first game—without any development. That’s what Brady believes.

“There used to be college programs. Now there are college teams,” Brady said. “You’re no longer learning a program, you’re learning a playbook. And the program is ultimately, like at Michigan for me, that is a pro-style program. For five years I got to learn how to drop back pass, to read defenses, to read coverages, to be coached. I had to learn from being seventh quarterback on the depth chart to moving up to third to ultimately being the starter.

“I had to learn all those things in college. That was development. Then I went to New England and I was developed by Coach Belichick and the offensive staff there. I didn’t start my first year. 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 because we’ve dumbed the game down, which has allowed them to play. It used to be thought of at a higher level.”

Safe to say, the quarterbacking isn’t just a nostalgia for Tom Brady; it’s a warning. And now that he’s already a Fox analyst, we’ll hear a lot more of it.