Tom Brady blew me away. Who's the most famous athlete of our generation: Tom Brady? LeBron? Messi? Ronaldo? Serena Williams? Maybe I haven't been around enough to know how the biggest stars really act. But Brady is a normal guy.

I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am today without my pops. I think a lot of a football player's makeup is mental, and I've been blessed to have someone to learn from. Not just from a technical standpoint, but everything he taught me about being a hard worker, a teammate and just being a football player.

The 24-hour news cycle is kind of insatiable. Players in the '80s and '90s didn't have to deal with that scrutiny.

I do have great memories from when my pops got inducted. Obviously, knowing him and knowing how hard he worked in pro football for so long and what he sacrificed, the physical side of it, the injuries, and the grinding and now eight years into the NFL you know what hard work that is.

There was a time when I was injured and playing really bad and cut, rightfully so, that I wasn't sure what my future in football was.

It's an accomplishment to play in the NFL.

I'm open for whatever any team asks me to do.

I've been compared to my dad my whole life. That pressure I've learned to deal with.

A mullet is something that takes time and effort.

It's unbelievable how far my career has taken me.

America's an awesome country, man. Everybody knows that.

I'm always trying to play for respect. I don't play the game for much else.

I've been lucky, man. I've been very lucky for 10 years, made a lot of money playing a game, a kids' game.

I think of myself as a complete person, not just a football player and athlete.

For Laura Ingraham to go after LeBron for speaking out politically is ridiculous.

Too often athletes think there's these norms that I have to fit into and there are people that I have to please.

I've always believed there are inequities in our country.

My dad was able to give me everything through football.

I love charity. Ask anyone.

I don't think football is enough for me.

Educational equity was my way of giving my salary. It's not $10 million or anything. I'm not going to act like I'm the first guy to donate $1 million to something, but it has been good.

Michelle Obama has also done a lot of work in the scope of educational equity and being able to work with her on some of her initiatives has been awesome. I'm very honored.

If we're saying there are incidents of oppression in this country, systematically or individually in this country, I don't think saying, 'Well, in country X, Y or Z it's 10 times worse' is making things any better. I think that may be true, but why can't we improve?

This is a wonderful country, and I think everyone agrees on that, but there are things in our country that can improve.

I play in a league that's 70 percent black and my peers, guys I come to work with, guys I respect who are very socially aware and are intellectual guys, if they identify something that they think is worth putting their reputations on the line, creating controversy, I'm going to listen to those guys.

In my career playing football, nobody asked me to do as much as Bill Belichick did.

My mother has been really instrumental in raising a lot of money through the Boys & Girls Club in my hometown.

I love Philadelphia.

In New England, I learned so much about football. I always thought I was a smart player, even though I never thought about anything but the six inches in front of my face. In New England, I was forced to learn so many schematic concepts.

I'm a rhythm player. I need to set people up, I need to be in the flow of the game.

Do I get irritated by the no-Pro Bowl thing, never making a Pro Bowl? Yeah, I do.

Any football player will tell you that in July you get this dark cloud over you if you know camp's coming.

It's a team game, but at the end of the day, you gotta be happy, and you gotta enjoy playing football every day.

The 25-year-old me would tell the 32-year-old me to take the two rings and go start the next chapter in life, but it's never simple when you still have gas left in the tank.

I'm a big guy and I can't have any tiny tattoos.

Earlier in my career, I wanted to do a lot of things under the radar because I felt uncomfortable in engaging with the fans because then they're thinking, 'Well, you're doing it for publicity,' or whatever.

The older you get, it is harder to prepare physically, even if you have all the experience in the world. You're more sore the next day, you can't pack in as much, and you have to train smarter. You have to pay attention to more subtle things like your warmup routine or core work.

I like that outlaw crossover rock 'n' roll-country sound.

I think a lot of winning a Super Bowl is being at the right place at the right time. It's sacrifice, it's making team plays and being an impactful player is part of it.

Continuity is one of the hardest things to come by in the NFL.

Robert Quinn. He's ridiculous. He can do anything a DB can do... at three hundred pounds!

In my training in the summer, back in the day, I used just go, go, go! I wouldn't take any days off, I would do whatever I wanted, as much as I wanted of it.

I'm not somebody that's been a natural at anything.

I look at the opportunity to play football as a blessing and I think what doesn't kill you certainly makes you stronger.

I've been through nine camps, and they're all a little bit different, but at the end of the day, it's just football.

Actually, I wanted to play baseball. Honestly, I just think with a kid developing, playing a lot of sports, it's just kind of whatever you're good at.

The lead initiative of my foundation is clean water, but not far behind it is military appreciation.

I think preparing every week like it's the most important game in the world makes things a little easier once you get in situations where a lot more people are watching and it might be a lot more important for people outside of the building.

At the end of the day, Coach Belichick does a great job of bringing in people he knows that will fit well.

I am honored to be named the 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year and to join the long line of men who have received this prestigious honor.