How Tom Brady inspired Harry Kane's rise to the top
Table of Contents
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Tom Brady's journey from the 199th NFL Draft pick inspired Harry Kane during his difficult Leicester loan spell.
- Kane used the lessons from The Brady Six to strengthen his self-belief and commitment to improvement.
- Kane went on to score 280 goals for Tottenham and become England’s all-time leading goalscorer.
At his lowest point, an unexpected source of inspiration helped change his outlook: NFL legend Tom Brady.
Kane discovered The Brady Six, a documentary about the six quarterbacks selected ahead of Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft. The story of how an overlooked American football player went on to become one of the greatest athletes in his sport struck a chord with the struggling striker.
For Kane, Brady's story offered a crucial lesson: early setbacks do not have to define the rest of a career.
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Harry Kane's struggles during his Leicester City loan
Kane signed his first professional contract with Tottenham in 2010, but a place in the senior team remained elusive.The club sent him out on loan to Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City as he gained experience in English football's lower divisions.
Those spells offered valuable lessons, but his time at Leicester proved particularly difficult. Competing in the Championship, the club were struggling for consistency, and Kane could not establish himself in the starting line-up.
For a young forward hoping to break into Tottenham's first team, the situation prompted some uncomfortable questions about his future.
Writing in The Players' Tribune, Kane recalled the doubts that began to creep in whilst he was living away from home.
I just remember sitting in my flat and having this terrible realisation of, like, "If I can't play for Leicester in the Championship... how am I supposed to play for Spurs in the Premier League?"The question captured the uncertainty he felt at the time. Despite progressing through Tottenham's academy, he had no guarantee that he would become a Premier League regular.
Kane later revealed that he had even considered leaving Tottenham.
That was the first time in my career, I'd say, that the doubt crept in.
My family came over later that night - and we got into kind of a heated discussion. I was so down that I told my dad I wanted to leave.
It would have been a terrible mistake, but I was really doubting myself. My dad said, "Look, keep working - keep doing. Get on with it, and everything will be alright."
How Tom Brady's The Brady Six documentary inspired Kane
Away from football training, Kane was becoming increasingly interested in American football.He spent his spare time playing Madden and watching New England Patriots videos on YouTube. During this period, he stumbled across The Brady Six, an NFL Films documentary examining the six quarterbacks selected before Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Brady had been selected by the Patriots with the 199th overall pick. Few could have anticipated that he would eventually win seven Super Bowl titles, including six with New England, and establish himself as one of the sport's most successful players.
The documentary explored how Brady had been underestimated throughout his early career. Even at college level, he faced competition for his position and questions about his physical attributes.
Kane recognised similarities between Brady's experience and his own struggles.
He reminded me of me. People were always making the same assumptions about me. "Well, you know, he doesn't look like a proper striker."Brady's story challenged the idea that an athlete's early setbacks should determine their ultimate ceiling. Rather than interpreting rejection as proof that he would never make it, Kane began to see it as a reason to keep improving.
It was genuinely inspiring to me. Brady believed in himself so much - and he just kept working and working, almost obsessively, in order to get better.
It really connected with me. This might sound strange, but it really was like this light flicked on inside my head that day, right there on my sofa in Leicester - and all of a sudden, I said, "You know what? I'm going to do it. I'm going to work as hard as possible, and my chance is going to come, and I'm going to grab it."
From Tottenham prospect to record-breaking striker
Kane returned to Tottenham determined to establish himself rather than accept another loan as the only route forward.When another temporary move was discussed, he made clear that he wanted to fight for a place in the senior team.
Under interim manager Tim Sherwood, Kane began to feature more regularly towards the end of the 2013/14 season. He scored in each of his first three Premier League starts, providing an early indication of his potential.
Mauricio Pochettino's arrival in 2014 presented another challenge. Kane still had to prove that he could deliver consistently at the highest level.
He did exactly that.
Kane finished his Tottenham career with 280 goals in 435 appearances across all competitions, becoming the club's record goalscorer. He also won the Premier League Golden Boot three times and developed into one of Europe's most prolific forwards.
His international career brought further achievements. Kane won the Golden Boot at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and became England's all-time leading goalscorer.
The player who had once questioned whether he could earn a place at Leicester had become the focal point of his country's attack.
Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or triumph completes his remarkable journey
Kane's rise reached another milestone on 26 October 2026, when he won the men's Ballon d'Or in London.The Bayern Munich striker became the first Englishman to receive the award since Michael Owen in 2001, capping a season in which his goalscoring helped Bayern secure domestic honours and England reach the latter stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
His achievement brought the story of his early struggles into sharper focus.
Years earlier, Kane had been sitting in a rented flat in Leicester, wondering whether he was good enough to succeed in the Premier League. Now, he had been recognised as the world's leading men's footballer.
The journey was not simply a story of natural talent finally being recognised. It was also one of persistence, incremental improvement and the ability to keep going when success seemed distant.
What Harry Kane and Tom Brady teach us about success
Football and American football require different abilities, but Kane saw a common principle in the careers of both athletes: sustained improvement can be just as important as the talent a player possesses at the beginning.Brady was overlooked in the NFL Draft, whilst Kane spent years trying to establish himself at Tottenham. Neither began their senior career with the certainty of future greatness.
Their stories also demonstrate the importance of preparation. Brady became renowned for his discipline and attention to detail, while Kanst built his reputation on consistent finishing, fitness and a willingness to refine his game.
Of course, hard work cannot guarantee success. Circumstances, coaching, opportunity and individual ability all matter. However, Kane's experience shows why a difficult spell should not automatically be treated as a final verdict on a player's potential.
The lasting lesson from Harry Kane's story
The most significant moment in Kane's journey may not have been a record-breaking goal or a major individual award. It may have been the evening he sat on his sofa in Leicester and reconsidered what his future could look like.Watching The Brady Six did not solve his problems overnight. It gave him a different way to approach them.
Brady's career showed Kane that being overlooked early on did not have to determine what came next. Kane responded by committing himself to improvement and refusing to abandon his ambition.
That determination eventually carried him from uncertain loan spells to Tottenham's goalscoring record, England's captaincy and the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
His journey is a reminder that progress is rarely straightforward. Sometimes, the most important step towards success is deciding that a setback will not have the final say.
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