TOM Brady's feet are worth more to him than most, given his unusually long career as a sports star.

And the pro footballer's commitment to the game is so great that it's reported to have cost him his marriage to model wife Gisele Bündchen.

But while Tom deliberates the next stage in his career having reached the end of the NFL season, a podiatrist has suggested that his prized feet show signs of "clawing," bone changes, and a potential risk for arthritis.

And while she thinks the 45-year-old American football icon likely spends thousands on regular foot care, she reveals it's purely to limit any future issues.

Analyzing an Instagram photo of Tom's feet, podiatrist Marion Yau told The U.S Sun: “If you're a professional footballer who's getting older, then you should be careful.

"From looking at this photo, Tom may be more prone to more injuries now.

"I can see that his right foot has bruising on the tip of the second toenail and his extensor tendons are showing which means he may have tight extensor muscles which may lead to the clawing on his toes.

"It's also unlikely his right big toenail will go back to normal.

"The running, kicking, and high-impact tackles he has been doing can increase trauma and risk of arthritis in Tom's feet, while I can see there are changes in the bone already.

“Tom would have good podiatric care to reduce risks and would likely spend around $9,000 a year on medical pedicures and physical therapy massages.”

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At 45 years old, Brady has been the oldest player in the 23rd season which has turned out to be a rollercoaster on and off the field.

Despite the game potentially costing him his marriage, while in middle age, he's pushed through hundreds of knocks and bumps out on the pitch.

In fact, the only season the quarterback missed significant play was in 2008 when Tom suffered a knee injury and underwent surgery.

And while an ankle sprain in 2007 forced him to wear a walking boot and miss practices, he still went on to play in Super Bowl XLII.

Over the years, Tom has reportedly suffered broken ribs and fingers, as well as ankle and shoulder issues.

Then during his retirement announcement last February, he admitted he couldn’t physically commit to football any longer, but only to make a dramatic U-Turn.

The decision is thought to have contributed to his split from Gisele and possibly demolished his marriage.

“Tom looks in good shape and from the Instagram photo his feet look very strong and muscular, and his legs look strong too, " adds Marion whose award-winning foot clinic also specializes in nail and skin issues.

“I wouldn't call his feet middle-aged, but more so mature and athletic feet.

“I think the clawing in Tom's toes is from having to grip for stability while he's standing or getting ready to run on the pitch.

"Each step he takes, the big toes bend up and down to push him and to run forward.

“If the big toes aren't functioning right then there'll be difficulties in walking and running, sometimes even standing over time.

"This could lead to severe pain and other foot problems in the future.

“Footballers also wear shoes that may have narrow toe boxes which can push the toes close together.

“You can also see there’s also a little bit of deviation on the large toe where it points toward the second toe which could also be footwear related.

“It’s Tom’s big toe on the right foot where there's nail damage, it’s slightly thickened, slightly ringed, and discolored.

“This issue is also common in professional footballers because they're on their feet all the time, running at very high speeds, get stepped on and tackled.

“The right big toenail might have come off from injury and over time slowly deformed and become smaller.

“I think this nail is a chronic, old problem where he's been injured multiple times on this big toe, and this is how it's recovered."

For any professional football player, sports-related foot and ankle injuries are par for the course, and often need treatment before they can go back to their regular routines.

Ignoring them or playing through them can also lead to later problems.

For Tom, however, a 2011-foot fracture saw him push through the rest of the season that year before undergoing another important surgery after developing a navicular bone fracture in his right foot.

“Tom had this surgery on the navicular on the right foot and so at the top of the right foot, there looks to be a little bit of distortion." notes Marion.

“Tom’s left foot and his nails are relatively well kept, so they're a nice length and a nice shape.

“But he could consider wearing a toe cap which might prevent the bruising on both toes and further damage.

“Tom could stretch out his toes to prevent them from clawing while using toe separators can also elongate the toes and make them straight.

“Footcare looks to be a part of Tom’s lifestyle, and he probably has a podiatric team for after he plays.

"They would look at his feet, see if there's any bruising of the nails, or if there's any kind of blisters, cuts, sprains and treat them immediately before it becomes a long-term issue.

“I think they'll regularly have a podiatrist and looking at his feet, I think he's got a pedicure recently in this photo.

“His podiatrists can check a player's gait, range of motion, check circulations, treat nail and skin conditions and recommend footwear, and prescribe orthotics, medicine, and physical therapy.

“Medical pedicures with a medical physical foot massage to stretch out his muscles and his tight toes are around $500 for one session.

“And for Tom, this would include cutting the nails, filing that big toenail, moving any dead skin that might be there, and manual massage therapy to stretch his toes out.

“And he'd do that every six to eight weeks.

“If Tom had that right toe surgery, it wouldn't guarantee that the toenail would return back to normal.

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"He'd be putting himself at risk while this type of surgery risks includes infection, chronic regional pain syndrome, and scar tissue  

“Athletes like Tom worry a lot because their feet are their foundation, so it’s really worth every penny to fix any issues where possible.”

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