Tom Brady

Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and was a central contributor to the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019. In his final three seasons, he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.

After playing college football for the Michigan Wolverines, Brady was selected 199th overall by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft, later earning him a reputation as the NFL's biggest draft steal. He became the starting quarterback during his second season, which saw the Patriots win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVI. As the team's primary starter for 18 seasons, Brady led the Patriots to 17 division titles (including 11 consecutive from 2009 to 2019), 13 AFC Championship Games (including eight consecutive from 2011 to 2018), nine Super Bowl appearances, and six Super Bowl titles, all NFL records for a player and franchise. He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 and won Super Bowl LV, extending his individual records to ten Super Bowl appearances and seven victories. In 2024, Brady became the lead color commentator for the NFL on Fox and a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Brady holds many major quarterback records, including most career passing yards, completions, touchdown passes, and games started. He is the NFL leader in career quarterback wins, quarterback regular season wins, quarterback playoff wins, and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, and the only Super Bowl MVP for two different franchises. Additional accolades held by Brady include the most Pro Bowl selections and the first unanimous NFL MVP. The only quarterback to win a Super Bowl in three separate decades, Brady is also noted for the longevity of his success. He was the oldest NFL MVP at age 40, the oldest Super Bowl MVP at age 43, and the oldest quarterback selected to the Pro Bowl at age 44. Brady is the only NFL quarterback named to two all-decade teams (2000s and 2010s) and was unanimously named to the 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.

Early life

Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. was born on August 3, 1977, in San Mateo, California, the only son and fourth child of Galynn Patricia (née Johnson) and Thomas Brady Sr. Brady was raised Catholic. His mother has Swedish, Norwegian, German, and Polish ancestry, while his father is of Irish descent; Brady has said his father is 100% Irish.

In the 1980s, Brady regularly attended San Francisco 49ers games at Candlestick Park, where he was a fan of quarterback Joe Montana; Brady has called Montana his idol and one of his inspirations. Aged four, Brady attended the 1981 NFC Championship, against the Dallas Cowboys, in which Montana threw "The Catch" to Dwight Clark. Brady attended football camp at the College of San Mateo, where he was taught to throw by camp counselor and future NFL/AFL quarterback Tony Graziani. Despite the rivalry between the teams, Brady grew up as a Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics fan.

Brady attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, where he graduated in 1995. He played football, basketball, and baseball in high school. He played against Bellarmine College Preparatory rival Pat Burrell in football and baseball. Brady began his career as the backup quarterback on the Padres junior varsity team. At first, Brady was not good enough to start on the 0–8 junior varsity team, which had not scored a touchdown all year. Brady ascended to the starting position when the main quarterback was injured. He became the varsity starter in his junior year and held it until he graduated. By Brady's senior year, he was striving to be noticed by college coaches. He created highlight tapes and sent them to schools he considered attending. This led to interest from many football programs.

The process of recruiting back then was very different; athletes' rankings were not as prominent. In the 2000s, Brady would have been considered a three or four-star recruit, and a highly rated prospect. Brady was on Blue Chip Illustrated and a Prep Football Report All-American selection. After his recruiting process, he narrowed his list to five schools. "Probably the ones that we did hear from and ultimately pared the list to were Cal–Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Michigan and Illinois," his father said. As a Cal-Berkeley fan, his father hoped Brady would attend the nearby school, where Brady was a silent commit, and that he would be able to watch his son play.

Brady was also known as a great baseball player in high school. He was a left-handed-batting catcher with power. His skills impressed MLB scouts, and he was drafted in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB draft by the Montreal Expos, after the team brought Brady to Candlestick Park to work out with players, an unusual decision. The Expos projected Brady as a potential All-Star, with then-GM Kevin Malone claiming Brady had the potential to be "one of the greatest catchers ever". The team offered him money typical of that offered to a late second-round or early third-round pick, but Brady was recruited by football assistant Bill Harris, to play for the University of Michigan in 1995. Brady became the last active athlete drafted by the Expos. He finished his high school career by completing 236 of 447 passes (53%) for 3,702 yards and 31 touchdowns. Brady won All-State and All-Far West honors and the team's Most Valuable Player Award.

During the summers of 1998 and 1999, Brady was an intern at Merrill Lynch. He was inducted into the Junípero Serra High School Hall of Fame in 2003. When Brady visited the school in 2012, after Super Bowl XLVI, administrators announced that they named the football stadium Brady Family Stadium.

College career

Brady played college football at the University of Michigan for the Wolverines from 1995 to 1999. After redshirting in 1995, Brady spent the next two years as a backup quarterback, while future NFL quarterback Brian Griese led the 1997 Wolverines to an undefeated season, capped by victory in the 1998 Rose Bowl and a share of the national championship. Initially, Brady was seventh on the depth chart, and struggled to get playing time. Brady hired a sports psychologist to help him cope with frustration and anxiety, and considered transferring to the University of California, Berkeley. He worked closely with assistant athletic director Greg Harden, who met with Brady every week to build his confidence and maximize his performance. Brady told 60 Minutes in 2014: "He will always be somebody I rely on for sound advice and mentorship. He has helped me with my own personal struggles in both athletics and in life. Greg really pushed me in a direction that I wasn't sure I could go."

On September 28, 1996, Brady appeared in his first collegiate game after Michigan was up 35–3 against UCLA late in the fourth quarter. His first-ever pass attempt was intercepted by Phillip Ward and returned for a 42-yard touchdown.

Under Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr, Brady battled for the starting job with Drew Henson and ultimately started every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Brady was All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention both seasons and team captain in his senior year. During his first full year as the starter, he set Michigan records for most pass attempts and completions in a season, for a total of 214. He set a school record for completions in a 31–16 loss against Ohio State in 1998, a season in which Michigan shared the Big Ten title. Brady capped that season with a 45–31 win over Arkansas in the 1999 Citrus Bowl.

In the 1999 season, Brady had to hold off Henson again for the starting job. They platooned during the first seven games, with Brady playing the first quarter, Henson second, and Carr deciding upon a quarterback for the second half. The 1999 Wolverines started with a 5–0 record, including a 26–22 win over Notre Dame, and a road win against eventual powerhouse Wisconsin. Against Michigan State, Brady was not chosen to play the second half; however, after being reinserted with Michigan down by 17 points, he nearly led Michigan all the way back before losing 34–31. After a 300-yard passing game the following week, Carr went exclusively with Brady for the remainder of the season. On October 30 against Indiana, Brady played the entire game for the first time in the season and threw for 226 yards, his fifth straight game throwing for 200 yards, to lead Michigan in a 34–31 win. Against Penn State, Brady led Michigan to another 4th-quarter comeback in a 31–27 win, heading into the regular season's final game as winners of three straight.

Michigan concluded the regular season against Ohio State; this was a dramatic game with a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line. With five minutes left, tied 17–17, Brady led Michigan to the winning score. He led Michigan to an overtime win in the 2000 Orange Bowl over Alabama, throwing for 369 yards and four touchdowns, leading the team back from two 14-point deficits in regulation. He threw the game-winning score on a bootleg play. Michigan won when Alabama missed an extra point following its touchdown. Brady set a BCS bowl game record with 35 completions.