Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is a former American Football player. From 2001 to 2019, he was the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots, then moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the next three seasons before retiring from play. Brady is widely recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, with many (even his critics and opponents) arguing that he is the greatest due to a resume of championships and career statistics that dwarf those of every other player who has played the position.note
After playing college football for the University of Michigan, Tom Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Brady rose from obscurity and became the starter after perennial Pro-Bowler Drew Bledsoe was injured in Week 2 of the 2001 season; he tallied an 11-3 record and won the Super Bowl that year. While this was seen at the time as one of the great underdog stories in American sports, the Patriots wouldn't remain underdogs for long. In Brady's 18 full seasons as a starter in New England (he missed nearly all of 2008 with a torn ACL), the Patriots earned nine trips to the Super Bowl and won six. Following this and a fractured relationship with coach Bill Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft that formed behind the scenes after their fifth Super Bowl win that nearly saw Brady get traded to his hometown San Francisco 49ersnote , Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a long-struggling team that held the worst franchise-winning record in all North American professional sports, hadn't visited the playoffs in thirteen years, and hadn't won a playoff game since their Super Bowl victory the year after Brady's first title. In his first year with the franchise, the Buccaneers returned to the Super Bowl and soundly defeated the defending champion Chiefs as Brady won a record fifth Super Bowl MVP,note an accomplishment that cemented Brady's name with Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Wayne Gretzky, and Babe Ruth as the greatest competitor in their respective sport. Brady was in half of all Super Bowls played during his two-decade career (ten total, five more than any other QB), holds the record for the most total Super Bowl touchdown passes, and is the first and only player to win six Super Bowls, let alone seven, which is more than any team has won in the history of the Big Game. He is only the second starting QB in history to win a title with two different teams (after longtime rival Peyton Manning won with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos) and the only one to do so in both conferences. He only missed the playoffs in a single season, 2002, and never started a single game where his team was already eliminated from the postseason.note Considering his career accomplishments, he is considered the greatest draft steal in NFL history.note
Obviously, in order to win that many championships, one has to be pretty great in all of the games leading up to it, and Brady has plenty of regular-season accolades as well. He threw more career touchdown passes and accrued more passing yards than any NFL quarterback, with the nearest active runner-ups being a long distance behind him. He was named the NFL MVP in 2007 (when he became the first QB to throw for 50+ touchdowns in a season and led the Pats to a 16-0 regular season), 2010 (when he set an NFL record for consecutive passes without an interception, 358, and became the first player since 1986 to be unanimously chosen as MVP), and 2017 (when he became the oldest ever to win at age 40), as well as the 2007 Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, the first NFL player to be so honored since 1990. He was selected to more Pro Bowls than any other player (15) and won more division titles than any other QB (18). He likewise threw for more passing yards and touchdowns than any QB in NFL postseason history. His career playoff record is 37-11, a win total over twice the number of runner-up (and Brady's childhood idol) Joe Montananote . Brady helped set the record for both the longest consecutive win streak in NFL history (21 straight wins across 2003-04), most consecutive playoff wins (10)note . At 44 years old in 2021, Brady became the oldest starting QB to win a game in the NFL, and while he continued to lead the league in many passing categories with no clear signs of slowing down, he ultimately decided to retire after the end of the season... only to announce his return not even two months later, deciding he still had "unfinished business". While he returned to play the first overall losing season of his career, he still became the oldest QB period to make a start in the NFL, made the playoffs, and broke his own record for most completions in a season before retiring for good.
Tom Brady has been a popular spokesman for several brands including Gillette, Dodge, Under Armour, Uggs, and Citizen watches. He has dabbled in acting, almost always As Himself, notably "starring" in (and producing) the 2023 film 80 for Brady. He has made guest appearances on Entourage, Family Guy, and Ted 2 (the latter two directed by Patriots Fan Seth MacFarlane and the last starring frequent Patriots owner's box guest Mark Wahlberg). He also had a small speaking role in Stuck on You with another Patriots megafan Matt Damon. He is also on the cover of Madden NFL 18, which even got a G.O.A.T. Edition inspired by him, and shared a cover with Patrick Mahomes (QB, Kansas City Chiefs) for Madden NFL 22.note He has signed a deal to go into the booth with FOX Sports and is slated (pending league approval) to become a minority investor in the Las Vegas Raiders (having already become one for another of Raiders owner Mark Davis' Vegas sports franchises, the WNBA's Aces, and English Football League side Birmingham City).
He was in a relationship with Bridget Moynahan for two years, a union that produced a son. The two have remained Amicable Exes. He married Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen in 2009 and divorced in 2022; they have a daughter and a son.
Filmography
Films
- Stuck on You (2003) as Computer Geek #1
- Ted 2 (2015) As Himself
- Entourage (2015) As Himself
- 80 for Brady (2023) As Himself (also producer)
Television
- In the Game (2004; TV film) As Himself
- The Simpsons (2005) As Himself (episode: "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass")
- Family Guy (2006) As Himself (episode: "Patriot Games")
- Entourage (2009) As Himself (episode: "Fore")
- Living With Yourself (2019) As Himself (episode: "The Best You Can Be")
