Tom Brady

Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. was born on August 3, 1977, in San Mateo, California, and became one of the defining figures of modern American football. A former professional quarterback, he played 23 seasons in the NFL, spending his first 20 with the New England Patriots and his final three with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady was a central contributor to the Patriots dynasty from 2001 to 2019 and is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.

Brady’s path did not begin with easy acclaim. He grew up the only son and fourth child of Galynn Patricia and Thomas Brady Sr., in a Catholic household with Swedish, Norwegian, German, Polish, and Irish family roots. In the 1980s, he regularly attended San Francisco 49ers games at Candlestick Park and became a fan of quarterback Joe Montana, whom he later called his idol and one of his inspirations. At age four, Brady was at the 1981 NFC Championship Game, where Montana threw “The Catch” to Dwight Clark.

At Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, Brady played football, basketball, and baseball. He began as a backup quarterback on a junior varsity team that had not scored a touchdown all year, then became the starter after the main quarterback was injured. By his junior year, he was the varsity starter. As a senior, he made highlight tapes and sent them to colleges. He also drew attention as a left-handed-batting catcher, and the Montreal Expos drafted him in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB draft. Brady chose football at the University of Michigan instead.

At Michigan, where he played for the Wolverines from 1995 to 1999, Brady again had to wait. After redshirting in 1995, he spent the next two years as a backup while Brian Griese led the 1997 team to an undefeated season, a Rose Bowl victory, and a share of the national championship. Brady was once seventh on the depth chart and struggled with frustration and anxiety. He worked with assistant athletic director Greg Harden, whom he later credited as a source of advice and mentorship in athletics and life.

The New England Patriots selected Brady 199th overall in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft, a pick that later gave him the reputation as the NFL’s biggest draft steal. In his second season, he became the starting quarterback and helped the Patriots win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVI. Over 18 seasons as the team’s primary starter, he led New England to 17 division titles, 13 AFC Championship Games, nine Super Bowl appearances, and six Super Bowl titles. In 2020, he joined Tampa Bay and won Super Bowl LV, raising his personal totals to ten Super Bowl appearances and seven victories.

Brady holds many major quarterback records, including career passing yards, completions, touchdown passes, and games started. He also leads in career quarterback wins, regular season wins, playoff wins, and Super Bowl MVP Awards, and is the only Super Bowl MVP for two different franchises. In 2024, he became the lead color commentator for the NFL on Fox and a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. His words still fit the outline of his career: “You just have to be what most people aren’t: consistent, determined, and willing to work for it.”