American football legend Tom Brady gave the AFL a glowing commendation while speaking at an exclusive event in Melbourne on Saturday.
Brady, who demoralised NFL defences for 23 years quarterbacking the New England Patriots (20 seasons, six Super Bowl titles) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (three seasons, one championship), starred at his speaking event - An Evening with Tom Brady - at Crown Palladium on Saturday night.
While the 46-year-old mesmerised watchers for multiple hours, it was a comment comparing AFL and NFL players that really had eyebrows pointing; stating that professional Aussie footballers "are a lot tougher than we (NFL players) are in America".
Sure, Brady may have made the surprising declaration to pander to the crowd, but his words would have excited the AFL royalty in attendance.
It's understood superstar Collingwood brothers Nick and Josh Daicos, Essendon captain Zach Merrett and Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli were among the game's stars watching on in the Palladium.
Also soaking up the experience was Carlton senior coach Michael Voss, who was lucky enough to find himself on the receiving end of one of Brady's signature spirals.
Later, backstage, Blues president Luke Sayers presented Brady with a Carlton guernsey minted with the California native's trademark No. 12 on the back.
Widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, Brady retired for a second time at the conclusion of the 2022 NFL season after un-retiring at the start of the year for one final campaign torching defenders.
It wasn't a fairytale career finish for the University of Michigan graduate, though, as Brady's Bucs fell to the Los Angeles Rams, 30-27, in the Divisional Round of the '22 playoffs.
Brady posted a staggering 75.4 winning percentage throughout his glittering 23-year NFL tenure.
The second and final chance to hear the icon share his experiences and wisdom on Australian turf is in Brisbane on Sunday evening, with ticket prices ranging between $100 and $3,999.