6 pro athletes who say Tom Brady inspired them to get healthy and break records, from Steph Curry to Rob Gronkowski

Tom Brady's storied NFL career is over, but his impact on sports might only just be getting started.

Brady's 22-year NFL career included more wins, touchdowns, and championships than any other player in the history of football, and it also included some intense commitment off the field too.

The 44-year-old future Hall of Famer lived by one of the strictest lifestyles of any professional athlete, following a regimented diet and physical recovery routine to stay fit for the football field.

He also spun that lifestyle into its own wellness brand, TB12, for others to follow. Many current and former star athletes follow pieces of Brady's lifestyle themselves to enhance their own health.

Like Brady, NBA star Steph Curry won three championships early in his career.

Now, the 33-year-old point guard is looking to replicate Brady's late-career success and add some more championships to his resume. But in order to do that, he has to stay on the court and keep playing at a high level.

Curry has said he sought out diet and lifestyle tips from Brady, according to NBC Sports.

Warriors owner Joe Lacob has told Yahoo Sports that he wants to see Curry become the Brady of his team and follow a similar lifestyle routine to get there.

Brady's long-time teammate Rob Gronkowski, who just finished his 11th NFL season, told Insider that he learned to cut processed sugar out of his diet after talking with Brady over the years.

"I just learned that over time by watching him eat, obviously everything he's putting in his body from desserts to the meal that he's eating is all clean products, it's all clean foods," Gronkowski said. "I'll have sugar, but it has to be some organic cane sugar or organic brown sugar, not some synthetic sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Just all-natural products, all-natural food."

Manny Pacquiao is one of the few athletes to boast more championships than Brady. The 43-year-old Phillipino boxing legend won 12 major world titles in eight different weight divisions, five more than Brady's seven Super Bowl championships.

But Pacquiao said he looked to Brady for inspiration during the final three years of his career after turning 40 in 2019, according to NBC Boston.

"Tom Brady is an inspiration to me. We are both in our forties, competing in sports that are dangerous and physically and mentally demanding," Pacquiao told NBC Boston. "In 2019, I became the oldest fighter to win a welterweight world title. It was HARD. I was forty and knew … I could not cut one corner in training camp. Run that final mile, crunch that last set of sit-ups, rest even when you do not feel tired — it all has to be done."

"Tom Brady does that every day. He has no offseason. … That takes superhuman dedication and discipline … Tom Brady is always in the back of my mind during training camp and between fights. Because Tom Brady is the gold standard," he added.

Odell Beckham Jr. says he started to make bigger investments into his own physical health and wellness a few years ago because he wanted to follow Brady's example, according to ESPN.

The 29-year-old star wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams said he spent $300,000 on a personal biomechanics trainer, chiropractor, and chef in 2018.

Beckham told ESPN that Brady, and his aspirations to play nearly two decades, drove the decision to invest more money into the services. Now, Beckham is on his way to play in his first Super Bowl with the Rams.

"It's a lot to upkeep. I don't ever want to decline," he said.

Brady paid for similar services during his NFL career from long-time body coach Alex Guerrero, who helped craft Brady's diet and performed regular tissue pliability therapy on Brady to keep his muscles resilient.

LeBron James and Tom Brady are seen as the two most influential athletes of the past decade, having dominated their respective sports.

The 37-year-old NBA superstar told NBC Boston he became used to seeing Brady in the public eye as much as him, and it was a reminder for James to keep playing regardless of age, physical breakdown, or scrutiny from the media.

"He lets me know and lets both of us know that we can still play this game at a high level. No matter how many miles, how many games," James told NBC Boston. "No matter how many doubters. No matter the statistics in our prospective professions at our age, we can still dominate our sport."

NFL Hall-of-Famer Troy Aikman was the last quarterback to win at least three Super Bowl championships before Brady burst onto the NFL scene in 2001. But even though Aikman came before Brady, he won't hesitate to follow the younger quarterback's example if it works for him.

Aikman, who is now the lead NFL broadcaster for Fox, told Insider he decided to start carrying around his own gallon-sized water jug after seeing Brady walk into a broadcast meeting holding one a few years back. Aikman says it helps him drink up to two gallons of water per day.

"I was reading more about the benefits of water, making sure you're hydrated, and I thought, 'I'm going to get a jug' because Tom had one that one time," Aikman said.