A stir of sorts was created when photos emerged of shirtless Tom Brady looking like anything but the product of a life devoted to diet and exercise. Those who were shocked by Brady’s dad bod apparently haven’t seen many shirtless quarterbacks.

Pro football has a spot for all sizes and shapes of players, and quarterbacks notoriously are among the least ripped and buff of the bunch. Joe Montana would never have been confused with Mr. Universe; hell, he would have been the “before” picture touting the potential benefits of a 30-day workout regimen. A couple of years ago, Tony Romo drew attention for apparently being a little loose in the cage as he jogged to the practice field, in a shirt that was clinging to the flesh of his midsection.

As to Brady, why is anyone surprised by his physique? He already looked like a middle-aged man who rolled out of bed to deal with the effects of an overactive prostate at the Scouting Combine, more than 18 years ago.

Besides, his TB12 method isn’t about getting jacked. It’s about being pliable and flexible and able to use his body the way he needs to use it.

The TB12 Twitter account confirmed that fact, proclaiming that “it’s more important to get six rings than to get a six pack,” and that the “TB12 Method is not about making you the MVP of the gym. . . . [i]t’s about living with vitality, being mentally strong, and enabling you to sustain your peak performance, so you can be MVP when it counts.”

Brady is among the league’s all-time greats. He’s still going strong as his 41st birthday approaches, in a game dominated by kids in their early 20s. And that’s all that matter.

Even if he would have had a hard time beating out Patrick Swayze in a Chippendale’s audition.