Tom Brady · Biography

Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. was born on August 3, 1977, in San Mateo, California, and came through Junípero Serra High School in his hometown, where he played football and baseball before graduating in 1995. A quarterback, he spent 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and three with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and won seven Super Bowls between 2002 and 2021.

The baseball draft and Michigan

His arm drew interest in two sports. In the 1995 MLB draft the Montreal Expos selected him in the 18th round, but Brady chose football and enrolled at the University of Michigan. He redshirted his first year in Ann Arbor and spent several seasons competing for snaps on a crowded quarterback depth chart. Once he had the job, he made it count: he led the Wolverines to a 45-31 win over Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl in January 1999 and to an overtime victory against Alabama in the Orange Bowl in January 2000, his final college game.

The 199th pick

The New England Patriots took him in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, 199th overall. As a rookie he appeared in a single game behind Drew Bledsoe. On September 23, 2001, Bledsoe was injured in the home opener against the New York Jets and Brady stepped in. He never gave the job back. That season ended with Super Bowl XXXVI, a 20-17 win over the Rams in which he was named the game's MVP.

The New England years

With Bill Belichick as head coach, two more titles followed quickly: Super Bowl XXXVIII, 32-29 over the Carolina Panthers after the 2003 season, with Brady again MVP, and Super Bowl XXXIX, 24-21 over the Philadelphia Eagles a year later. In 2007 the Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season; Brady threw 50 touchdown passes for 4,806 yards and won his first league MVP award. The perfect season ended in Super Bowl XLII, lost 17-14 to the New York Giants, the same opponent that beat New England 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI after the 2011 season. Between those two games, Brady was the unanimous MVP of 2010.

Deflategate and the later Patriots titles

The Patriots won again in Super Bowl XLIX, beating the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 after the 2014 season; Brady threw four touchdown passes and led a ten-point fourth-quarter comeback. In May 2015 the NFL suspended him for four games over the underinflated footballs case known as Deflategate. After a year of court rulings he accepted the ban in July 2016 and missed the first four games of that season. The campaign ended in Super Bowl LI: trailing the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 in the third quarter, New England scored 25 unanswered points and won 34-28 in overtime. He won his third MVP award in 2017, lost Super Bowl LII that season, and collected a sixth ring in Super Bowl LIII, a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in February 2019.

Tampa Bay

On March 20, 2020, after 20 seasons in New England, he signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his first year in Florida the Buccaneers reached Super Bowl LV and beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9; Brady was named the game's MVP for the fifth time, more than any other player. He announced his retirement on February 1, 2022, reversed the decision 40 days later, on March 13, and played one more season before retiring for good on February 1, 2023.

Records

He finished his career holding the NFL regular-season records for passing yards (89,214), touchdown passes (649) and completions (7,753). He won 251 regular-season games and 35 playoff games as a starter, played in ten Super Bowls and 14 conference championship games, and was selected to 15 Pro Bowls, all league records. In the postseason he went 35-13 and threw 88 touchdown passes.

After football

The Patriots inducted him into their Hall of Fame on June 12, 2024, as its 35th member, and announced the same day that his No. 12 would be retired. Starting with the 2024 season he worked as the lead analyst on Fox's NFL broadcasts. On October 15, 2024, NFL owners approved his purchase of a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.