WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady delivered the commencement address at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, urging graduates to persevere through setbacks and surround themselves with hardworking people. Brady, who won seven Super Bowls and lost three during his playing career, drew on moments from his own career to illustrate his message.

Brady referenced Super Bowl LI on February 5, 2017, when the New England Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons 28 to 3 with six minutes left in the third quarter before mounting a comeback victory. "If something has a 99.7% chance of happening, the outcome is a foregone conclusion," he said. "At that moment, the Falcons had a 99.7% chance of winning."

He used that example to warn graduates that they would face similar tests in their own lives. "When the odds are stacked against you, when you're facing your own 28 to 3 moment — and believe me, it's coming — you will have a choice to make: to quit or to fight your ass off," he said. Brady also told graduates, "Don't be a little bitch. Go out there and fight your ass off."

Brady framed adversity as a recurring feature of any career. "These are all just momentary tests where failure isn't final, only quitting is," he said. He also referenced his longtime coach Bill Belichick, who coached him for 20 years, saying, "I had a coach for 20 years tell me how s—ty I was every day."

He then turned to former teammate Danny Amendola as an example of the kind of person graduates should keep close. "Danny went undrafted out of Texas Tech," Brady said. "He was cut by three NFL teams. He wasn't the tallest, he wasn't the fastest, but he had a huge heart, and he played his ass off in the biggest moments." He added, "Sometimes you need a kid from a glorified community college who can bail your ass out of any jam." Brady closed that portion of his remarks with advice on building a network: "If you want to achieve great things, surround yourself with people like him."