Brady put on one of his greatest performances as a Wolverine in his final game wearing the winged helmet, guiding No. 6 Michigan to an overtime triumph over No. 5 Alabama. The Wolverines trailed 34-33 with just under four minutes left in regulation when Brady connected with Jabrill Peppers on a 72-yard touchdown pass. He then led two more scoring drives in OT to give Michigan its first win over a top-five team since 1993.
After the game, Brady announced he was retiring from football at the end of the season. He finished his career with a record of 45-4.
In that last game, Brady completed 24 of 36 passes for 391 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for a touchdown.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said after the game that it wasn't necessarily about winning or losing but rather about setting a standard of excellence that will never be topped. "I think what you try to do is you try to leave them all with something," he said. "You don't want to go out simply trying to win games. You want to go out trying to make a statement."
Harbaugh added: "I think if you look at his body of work, there's really nothing not to like about Tom Brady.
Tom Brady's football career began as a Michigan Wolverine and nearly ended there. The legend of the comeback kid was virtually a myth. The most successful NFL quarterback in history had to compete for playing time. In fact, he won the starting job over an entrenched veteran in pre-season camp. Then, after losing that battle, he spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Michigan.
Brady returned to Michigan for good in 1994 and took over as the Wolverines' starting quarterback. He led them to a national championship game appearance before falling to Florida State. From 1993 to 1995, Brady passed for over 10,000 yards and 92 touchdowns while only throwing 20 interceptions. He left Michigan after two seasons, but not before leading them to another National Championship. This time they beat Virginia Tech 21-14 in Miami.
After leaving Michigan, Brady went to Massachusetts where he met his wife Bridget. The couple has three children together: Jack, Charlie, and Maggie.
While at Michigan, Brady learned from one of the best coaches in the business: Bo Schembechler. Under Schembechler, the Wolverines were a force to be reckoned with, winning or tying for first place in every season except Brady's freshman year when he suffered a knee injury that required surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear.
On November 23, 2000, New England Patriots rookie quarterback Tom Brady checked into the game against the Detroit Lions. When Brady rejoined the game, the Lions led the Patriots 34-9 with 4:04 left in the fourth quarter. Brady led two touchdown drives in the final period to tie the game at 54. Then he helped the Patriots win in overtime.
Brady's debut came four years after the death of Daryle Lamonica, who had been drafted number one by the Oakland Raiders but never played a down for them because they traded his rights to the Patriots before the season began. Lamonica was killed in a car crash on July 26, 1996, just three days after the start of training camp.
Including his stint with the Patriots, Brady has gone on to become one of the most successful quarterbacks in NFL history. He is the winningest quarterback in New England sports history and his 72 victories are third all time behind Bill Belichick and Bobby Orr. Brady has also thrown for over 4,000 yards several times and has 30 or more touchdowns eight times. He is the only player in NFL history with a minimum of 300 wins and 50 interceptions.
After his rookie season, Brady returned for another 16 games before going on injured reserve with a torn ACL. He returned for the 2001 season and has not missed a game since then.
His most recent title came after the Falcons lost a 28-3 lead in the fourth quarter, allowing Brady to lead New England to a 34-28 overtime triumph. Last year's Super Bowl was won by the Philadelphia Eagles, 41-33.
Brady has now won five championships, more than any other quarterback. He is the only player to have won a championship with three different teams.
His regular season record is 508-247-10. His postseason mark is 67-20.
He has been named MVP of the game six times: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016, and 2017.
The Patriots have had 12 seasons without a loss, from 2001 to 2012, and again in 2018. They have also had 12 games where they have scored 30 or more points, to include playoffs.
Brady has been selected as MVP in each of his victories: 2007, when he led the Patriots to an 18-16 victory over Tampa Bay; 2015, when he directed New England to its third straight title with a 43-40 win over Atlanta; and 2017, his fifth career Super Bowl victory.
In his career, Brady has thrown for 70,000 yards and 554 touchdowns against only 200 interceptions. He is the winningest quarterback in NFL history.
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