How Tom Brady said no to an adductor release and never had to do it
A clip circulating widely on social media Friday captured seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady detailing a specific moment in his career when a team doctor recommended bilateral adductor tendon surgery, and what he chose to do instead.
Brady said the issue developed after a season in which he had been managing persistent groin soreness. After reporting it to the team physician, he received a recommendation he was not prepared to accept.
“After the season, I tell the doctor, My groin’s just really sore all the time. Every time I move, I can feel it just grab,” Brady said. “And the team doctor says, This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to do an adductor release, we’re going in there and cut the adductor tendon in your groin. We’re also going to cut the other side, so it never becomes a problem. And I was like, Okay, that sounds not like what I want to do.”
Brady has credited Guerrero with extending his career for years
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Brady left the appointment and immediately called Alex Guerrero, his longtime body coach and co-founder of TB12 Sports, whose methods formed the foundation of Brady’s entire approach to training and recovery throughout his career.
“I called Alex when I left the office. I said, Alex, the doctor told me to do this adductor release. What do you think?” Brady said. “He said, Absolutely not. Fly out to LA with me for 3 days and I’ll fix it. So I fly out there and worked the adductors, lengthened and softened both muscles, my hips, all my glutes, basically relieved the tension on the tendon. And 3 days later, no more pain. The doctor said there was a 99% chance he’d have to cut my adductor tendon at some point. And to this day, nothing.”
Guerrero’s approach is centered on what he and Brady have long referred to as “pliability,” the practice of keeping muscles long, soft, and unrestricted rather than dense and tight.
The core of the method involves deep, targeted soft tissue work designed to release tension and restore range of motion rather than strengthen or stretch in the conventional sense.
Brady described the philosophy in his 2017 book The TB12 Method and has built the TB12 brand around it, including training facilities and a full line of recovery products.
The story of the groin has been part of Brady’s broader narrative about Guerrero for years. A 2015 New York Times Magazine profile of Brady confirmed that he had been scheduled for the adductor surgery at one point, that the Patriots had backed the procedure, and that Guerrero talked him out of it.
Brady played professional football until 45, retiring for good in February 2023 after his final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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