How Tom Brady Inspired Harry Kane to the Ballon d’Or

Tumbling down dark YouTube rabbit holes can lead to founts of useless knowledge, inane conspiracy theories and, in the case of Harry Kane at least, the ultimate individual accolade soccer has to offer.

Thirteen years before Kane was stood in London, his home city, fighting off tears to accept the Ballon d’Or as the best men’s player on the planet, he had been sat on his couch in a rented apartment in Leicester contemplating his future in the sport.

A bright academy prospect at Tottenham Hotspur, the then-teenager was in the midst of his fourth loan spell in three years. It was not going well. Leicester City were in England’s second tier and locked in a sequence of one win in 13 games yet Kane still couldn’t force himself into the starting lineup.

“That was the first time in my career, I’d say, that the doubt crept in,” Kane would later tell The Players’ Tribune. “I just remember sitting in my flat and having this terrible realization of, like, If I can’t play for Leicester in the Championship ... how am I supposed to play for Spurs in the Premier League?”

Away from home in an unfamiliar city, Kane sank his spare time into his new hobby: NFL. The New England Patriots had caught the attention of the English forward who stumbled across an NFL Films documentary about star quarterback Tom Brady which had been illegally uploaded to YouTube. It would change his life.

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The Parallels Between Brady and Kane

The Brady Six followed the careers of the six quarterbacks drafted before Brady, who was infamously selected 199th overall before becoming the greatest in the history of the sport. Kane could not believe it.

“It just blew my mind—but in a good way. The film really struck a chord with me. Everyone was doubting Tom his whole life,” the striker reflected years later. “He reminded me of me. People were always making the same assumptions about me. [Saying:] ‘Well, you know, he doesn’t look like a proper striker.’”

Brady’s scouting report coming out of college read: “Poor build, skinny, lacks a really strong arm, can’t drive the ball downfield.” Kane was at the other extreme having been let go from Arsenal’s academy as an 8-year-old for being “a bit chubby.”