The former New England Patriots defensive lineman is one of 15 finalists for induction into the Hall of Fame's Class of 2021. He's in his third year of eligibility, however he was passed over for the Hall of Fame in 2019 and 2020. Brady will be eligible again in 2024.
Brady has a chance to join his longtime friend and teammate John Elway as the only quarterbacks to be voted into the Hall of Fame by their peers. The Patriots quarterback has been nominated by his current coach Bill Belichick and earned the most votes from his fellow players on the NFL Network. He's expected to be elected during the weekend of August 3-4.
Brady is the greatest postseason performer of all time and is one victory away from becoming the first player to win three Super Bowls. His record of 24-4 includes playoffs victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, and Philadelphia Eagles.
He finished with more than 4,000 yards passing and 28 touchdowns against only nine interceptions in 2014 before missing the last game of the season with an elbow injury. He came back the next year at age thirty-nine and ten months and led the Patriots to their fifth Super Bowl victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
In the 2004 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts, Brady completed 26 of 39 passes for 381 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Ron Burton was the team's first draft choice when it was known as the Boston Patriots. Six of its members have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The New England Patriots Hall of Fame includes 22 players, seven of whom have had their numbers retired. Three others were part of the original Brown University football team that played against Harvard University in 1873.
The Patriots' all-time leading passer is not among them. Tom Brady is currently ranked fifth on the all-time list with 12,374 yards behind Dan Marino (761), Peyton Manning (719), Joe Montana (671), and Steve Young (0). He has a chance to move up when the results of an ongoing lawsuit are decided. If he is found to be using underhanded tactics such as using deflated balls, then he will be banned from the hall.
Running back Tony Dorsett is the only player who has both a state and national championship ring. Defensive tackle Ted Washington and defensive end Bruce Irvin also have two rings each. Linebacker Rosey Grier, cornerback Ellis Hobbs, and safety Willie Rushton are the only other players who have more than one ring. Grier and Rushton both have three Super Bowl rings while Hobbs has two.
Irvin is the only rookie to make the Hall of Fame.
Tom Brady was picked by the New England Patriots in 2000 and has since earned three NFL MVP awards, four Super Bowl MVP honors, and a record seven Super Bowl victories. He is also one of only eight players to win the award three or more times.
Brady's success has attracted attention from many different sources. In 2004, his jersey sales increased by over 20% after he broke the "single-season passing touchdown record" that belonged to Peyton Manning at that time. The record has since been broken twice more but remains intact as of 2016.
His appearance in commercials for Nike's "iDunk" campaign has helped him become a popular figure in sports entertainment. The "iDunk" commercial series features NBA greats such as Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James helping younger players learn how to dunk. It started in 2003 with just one player in each scene but now includes five players in each scene who all do different actions such as jumping into a hoop or taking shots from behind the backboard.
Another reason why Tom Brady has become so popular is because of his relationship with female fans. He has been known to interact with fans through Twitter and other social media sites and sometimes does photoshoots with them.
The New England Patriots will play without Tom Brady for the first time in 20 years. Although losing a six-time Super Bowl winner at quarterback appears to be a negative thing, the Patriots have found a worthy substitute in former NFL MVP Cam Newton. Before his injury, Brady had already won five rings as a starter and was expected to win more before he retired.
Newton came into the league with big expectations last season after winning the Heisman Trophy at Florida State. However, he failed to live up to them as a runner while also appearing to lack confidence in his arm. The Panthers drafted him first overall because they believed he could lead their team to the promised land. But now that he has the opportunity, can he prove them right?
Brady's injury will allow Newton to make his first career start on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. This will be a huge challenge for him since the Patriots' defense is one of the best in the league.
Newton has never started a game before so this opportunity comes as no surprise to anyone. He said earlier this week that he's ready to go and prove people wrong who don't think he can lead the Patriots to the championship. It will be interesting to see how he performs in his first game as a starter.
Ten conference titles Brady was the New England Patriots' starting quarterback in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. He also started at quarterback for one NFC championship club, the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for a total of ten conference championships. He is the most recent player to win ten conference championships.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' Joe Montana is the current record holder with nine conference championships.
Brady has won more games than any other NFL quarterback (with the exception of Peyton Manning) and has led his team to the number one ranking every year he has been in the league. He has appeared in five Super Bowls so far and has won four Super Bowl rings - three with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers this past season. He is the greatest quarterback of all time according to numerous polls.
An average NFL game involves about fifteen minutes of playing time per team, with timeouts included. This makes each game around eighty minutes long. An entire season consists of six games, which adds up to 480 minutes of play time - or 10 hours 30 minutes. That's a lot of football!
In addition to his career as a quarterback, Brady has also made two appearances in the Pro Bowl as a linebacker for the AFC.
He turned 36 years old in February 2019.
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