Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. (born
August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the New
England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). After
playing college football at the University of Michigan, Tom Brady
was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL
Draft.
INTERVIEW WITH TOM
BRADY
In Tom Brady's ten seasons as a starter, the Patriots have earned
trips to the Super Bowl in five of them, winning three. Tom Brady
has also won two Super Bowl MVP awards, has been selected to eight
Pro Bowls, and holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a
single regular season. His career postseason record is 16–6. Tom
Brady also helped set the record for the longest consecutive win
streak in NFL history with 21 straight wins over two seasons
(2003–04), and in 2007 he led the Patriots to the first undefeated
regular season since the institution of the 16-game schedule. Tom
Brady has the fourth-highest career passer rating of all time (96.4)
among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career passing attempts.
Tom Brady and Joe Montana are the only two players in NFL history to
win the NFL Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl MVP awards multiple
times. Tom Brady and John Elway are the only two quarterbacks to
lead their teams to five Super Bowls. Tom Brady was also named the
NFL MVP in 2007 and 2010 (becoming the first player to be
unanimously chosen as MVP in the 2010 season) as well as 2007 Male
Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, the first time an NFL
player has been so honored since Joe Montana won the award in 1990.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have also combined to form one of the
most successful quarterback-coach tandems in NFL history, winning
125 regular season games and 16 postseason games together, as well
as appearing in five Super Bowls together, all NFL records.
Early years
Tom Brady was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Galynn
Patricia (née Johnson) and Thomas Tom Brady, Sr.[1] Tom Brady has
three older sisters.[2] Tom Brady was raised in a Catholic family of
exceptionally gifted athletes, and is of Irish and Prussian-German
descent.[3][4][5][6] Tom Brady regularly attended 49ers games in the
1980s, where he became a fan of quarterback Joe Montana; since then,
Tom Brady has mentioned Montana as one of his inspirations and an
idol.[7] One of the games Tom Brady attended was the 1981 NFC
Championship, in which Montana threw The Catch to Dwight Clark, with
Tom Brady only being four-years-old at the time.[8]
Tom Brady graduated from Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo,
California.[9] Tom Brady was also drafted as a catcher in the 18th
round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos.[10]
College career
Tom Brady played college football for, and graduated from, the
University of Michigan.[11][12] Tom Brady was a backup his first two
years, while teammate and future NFL quarterback Brian Griese led
the 1997 Wolverines to an undefeated season capped by a victory in
the Rose Bowl and a share of the national championship. When he
enrolled at Michigan, Tom Brady was seventh on the depth chart and
had an intense struggle to get some playing time. At one point, Tom
Brady hired a sports psychologist to help him cope with frustration
and anxiety and even considered transferring to Cal.[13][14] Tom
Brady battled for the starting job with Drew Henson,[12] ultimately
starting every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons under Michigan head
coach Lloyd Carr. During his first full year as starter, he set
Michigan records for most pass attempts and completions in a season
(214).[15] Tom Brady was All-Big Ten honorable mention both seasons
and team captain his senior year. The Wolverines won 20 of 25 games
when he started and shared the Big Ten Conference title in 1998. Tom
Brady capped that season with a win over Arkansas in the Citrus
Bowl.[16] In the 1999 season, Tom Brady led Michigan to an overtime
win in the Orange Bowl over Alabama, throwing for 369 yards and four
touchdowns.[12]
Professional career
2000 season
Tom Brady was selected with pick #199, a compensatory pick, in the
sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.[17] According to Michael Holley's
book Patriot Reign, the Patriots were considering Tom Brady and Tim
Rattay, both of whom had received positive reviews from
then-quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein.[18] Ultimately, the Patriots
front office chose Tom Brady. Considering his later achievements,
many analysts have called Tom Brady the best NFL draft pick of all
time.[19][20][21][22]
Tom Brady started the season as the fourth string quarterback,
behind starter Drew Bledsoe and backups John Friesz and Michael
Bishop; by season's end, he was number two on the depth chart behind
Bledsoe.[23] During his rookie season, he was 1-of-3 passing, for
six yards.[24]
2001 season
The Patriots opened the season with a 23–17 loss at Cincinnati, with
Bledsoe as the starting quarterback.[24] Their second game, and home
opener, on September 23, was against their AFC East rival, the New
York Jets. Bledsoe was again the starter, when in the fourth quarter
he suffered internal bleeding after a hit from Jets linebacker Mo
Lewis. Bledsoe returned for the next series, but was replaced with
Tom Brady for the Patriots' final series of the game. New York would
hold on to win, 10–3, and the Patriots fell to 0–2 on the
season.[25] Tom Brady was named the starter for the season's third
game, against the Indianapolis Colts. In his first two games as
starter, Tom Brady posted unspectacular passer ratings of 79.6 and
58.7, respectively, in a 44–13 victory over the Colts (in their last
season in the AFC East) and a 30–10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.[26]
In the Pats' fifth game, Tom Brady began to find his stride.
Trailing the visiting San Diego Chargers 26–16 in the fourth
quarter, Tom Brady led the Patriots on two scoring drives to force
overtime, and another in overtime to set up a winning field goal.
Tom Brady finished the game with 33 pass completions on 54 attempts,
for 364 yards, and two touchdowns.[27] The following week, Tom Brady
again played well during the rematch at Indianapolis, with a passer
rating of 148.3 in a 38–17 win.[28] The Patriots went on to win 11
of the 14 games Tom Brady started, and six straight to finish the
regular season, winning the AFC East and entering the playoffs with
a first-round bye. Tom Brady finished with 2,843 passing yards and
18 touchdowns and earned an invitation to the Pro Bowl.[24][29]
2001 postseason
In Tom Brady's first playoff game, against the Oakland Raiders, he
threw for 312 yards and led the Patriots back from a ten-point
fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime, where they won
on an Adam Vinatieri field goal. A controversial play in that game
came when, trailing by three in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady lost
control of the ball after being hit by fellow Wolverine Charles
Woodson. Oakland initially recovered the ball, but, citing the "tuck
rule," which states that any forward throwing motion by a
quarterback begins a pass even if the quarterback loses possession
of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body,
referee Walt Coleman overturned the call on instant replay, ruling
it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.[30]
In the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tom
Brady injured his knee, and was relieved by Bledsoe.[31] The
Patriots won the game and were immediately instituted by Las Vegas
oddsmakers as 14-point underdogs against the NFC champion St. Louis
Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.[32]
The score was tied with 1:21 left in the Super Bowl and the Patriots
were at their own 15—with no timeouts—when sportscaster and Super
Bowl-winning coach John Madden said he thought the Patriots should
run out the clock and try to win the game in overtime.[33] Instead,
Tom Brady drove the Patriots' offense down the field to the Rams 31
before spiking the ball with seven seconds left. The Patriots won
the game on another Adam Vinatieri field goal as time expired. Tom
Brady was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI while throwing for 145
yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, becoming the
then-youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl.[34]
2002 season
Tom Brady and the Patriots finished the year at 9–7, tied with the
New York Jets and Miami Dolphins for the best record in the
division; however, the Jets won the division on the third
tiebreaker, and the Patriots missed the playoffs.[35]
Although posting a career-low single-season rating of 85.7, Tom
Brady threw for a league-leading 28 touchdown passes and 921 more
yards than in 2001, though his fourteen interceptions would turn out
to be a career high.[26] However, Tom Brady played much of the
second half of the season with a shoulder injury, and New England
head coach Bill Belichick has since indicated that if the Patriots
had made the playoffs, Tom Brady would not have been able to play in
the first game due to that injury.
2003 season
In the 2003 NFL season, after a 2–2 start, Tom Brady led the
Patriots to twelve consecutive victories to finish the season, thus
winning the AFC East.[36] Statistically, Tom Brady's strongest game
of the season was against Buffalo, when he achieved a season-high
quarterback rating of 122.9.[26] Tom Brady finished with 3,620
passing yards and 23 touchdowns,[24] and was second in NFL MVP
voting to co-winners Peyton Manning and Steve McNair.[37] In the
first two rounds of the playoffs, the Patriots defeated the
Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. On February 1, 2004, Tom
Brady led the Patriots to a 32–29 victory over the NFC champion
Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII and was named Super Bowl MVP
for the second time. During the game, Tom Brady threw for 354 yards
with three touchdowns and set the record for most completions by a
QB in a Super Bowl (32). With 1:08 left in the fourth quarter and
the score tied 29–29, Tom Brady engineered a drive to put the
Patriots in position for the game-winning field goal.[38]
During the 2004 season, Tom Brady helped the
Patriots set an NFL record with 21 straight wins dating from the
previous year, an accomplishment honored in the Pro Football Hall of
Fame (though for official records, the NFL considers it an 18-game
regular season winning streak; it does not count playoff games).[39]
New England's 14–2 record equalled that of their 2003 season, as
well as tied the best regular-season record ever for a defending
champion.[40] The Patriots also won the AFC East divisional title
for the third time in four years. Tom Brady threw for 3,692 yards
and 28 touchdowns, with a 92.6 passer rating, and was voted to his
second Pro Bowl.[24] In the AFC playoffs, Tom Brady led the Patriots
to victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh
Steelers.[41] Tom Brady played his best game of the year in
Pittsburgh despite requiring intravenous treatment the previous
night when he ran a temperature of 103 degrees.[42] Against the
NFL's best defensive team,[41] Tom Brady recorded a quarterback
passer rating of 130.5, his highest of the season.[26] On February
6, 2005, the Tom Brady-led Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles
to win Super Bowl XXXIX. Tom Brady threw for 236 yards and two
touchdowns[43] while capturing the Patriots' third championship in
four years.
2005 season
During the 2005 season, the Patriots were forced to rely more on Tom
Brady's passing, due to injuries suffered by running backs Corey
Dillon, Patrick Pass, and Kevin Faulk.[44][45] Tom Brady also had to
adjust to a new center and a new running back: Heath Evans. The
results were positive; Tom Brady finished first in the league with
4,110 passing yards and third in the league with 26 touchdowns.[24]
At 92.3, his 2005 passer rating was the second-highest of his career
at the time, although he equalled his career high for interceptions
with fourteen.[26] Tom Brady also rushed for 89 yards and fumbled a
career-low four times.[26] Tom Brady and the Patriots finished with
a 10–6 record, winning their third straight AFC East title.[46]
In the playoffs, Tom Brady led the Patriots to a 28–3 victory over
the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild card round; however, on January
14, 2006, the Patriots lost 27–13 to the Denver Broncos at INVESCO
Field. Tom Brady threw for 341 yards in the game with one touchdown
and two interceptions, in the first playoff loss of his career.[47]
After the season's end, it was revealed that Tom Brady had been
playing with a sports hernia since December. Linebacker Willie
McGinest commented on it and said he knew, but Tom Brady continued
on playing.[48]
2006 season
Tom Brady led the Patriots to a 12–4 record and the fourth seed in
the AFC playoffs.[49] In the regular season, Tom Brady threw for
3,529 yards and 24 touchdowns.[24] Tom Brady was not among the
players initially selected to the Pro Bowl,[50] although he was
offered an injury-replacement selection when Philip Rivers was
forced to withdraw (which he declined).[51]
In the postseason, the Patriots first hosted their division rivals,
the New York Jets, in the wild-card round. The Patriots defeated the
Jets 37–16, as Tom Brady went 22–34 for 212 yards and two TDs.[52]
In the divisional round, the Patriots traveled to San Diego to take
on the Chargers. This was Tom Brady's first playoff game in his home
state of California. Tom Brady and the Patriots struggled against
the Chargers, whom many had picked as favorites to win Super Bowl
XLI.[53] With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the
Patriots down by eight points, Tom Brady and the Patriots started a
key drive that would ultimately decide the game. After a 49-yard
pass play to Reche Caldwell, a Stephen Gostkowski field goal gave
the Patriots a 24–21 win.[54]
In the AFC championship, the Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts.
The Patriots and Colts had faced each other twice in the previous
three postseasons at Foxborough; this game, however, was played at
Indianapolis. The Patriots led at halftime, 21–6; however, the Colts
staged a comeback, resulting in a last minute interception thrown by
Tom Brady, and a Patriots loss.[55]
2007 season
Playing with a dramatically overhauled receiver corps—in the 2007
offseason, the Patriots acquired wide receivers Donté Stallworth,
Wes Welker, Kelley Washington and Randy Moss; tight end Kyle Tom
Brady; and running back Sammy Morris—Tom Brady enjoyed what some
sports writers have described as the best season ever by a
quarterback.[56] The average score of a 2007 Patriots regular season
game would be 37–17 by the end of the year.[57] Tom Brady not only
led the Patriots to a 16–0 record, outscoring opponents by more than
a 2-to-1 margin, but attained numerous career, franchise, and NFL
records and milestones. While away at Dallas, he had a career-high
five passing touchdowns in a 48–27 win. The win tied him with Roger
Staubach for the most wins ever by a starting quarterback in his
first 100 regular-season games, with 76.[58] The next week, in part
of a 49–28 win at Miami, he had yet another record day, with six
passing touchdowns, setting a franchise record. Tom Brady also had
the first perfect passer rating of his career.[59] Two weeks laters,
as part of a come-from-behind 24–20 victory at Indianapolis, he
threw for another three touchdowns, the ninth consecutive game in
which he had done so, breaking Peyton Manning's NFL record of
eight.[60] During the last game of the year, Tom Brady threw two
touchdown passes; his second touchdown was his 50th, breaking Peyton
Manning's 2004 record of 49. For his efforts, Tom Brady was named
the Most Valuable Player of this season, as well as Offensive Player
of the Year. Tom Brady was also honored by the Associated Press as
their Male Athlete of the Year, the first time an NFL player has
been so honored since Joe Montana won the award in 1990.[61]
2007 playoffs
In the Patriots' first playoff game, an AFC Divisional game against
Jacksonville, Tom Brady began the game with an NFL postseason record
sixteen consecutive completed passes, and finished the game with 26
completions in 28 attempts, a completion rate of 92.9%. That mark is
the highest single-game completion percentage (for passers with at
least 20 attempts) in NFL history, regular season or postseason.[62]
With the win, the Patriots matched the Dolphins as the only team to
win 17 consecutive games in one season.
Statistically, Tom Brady did not fare as well in the AFC
Championship Game against the San Diego Chargers, throwing three
interceptions (including his first interception in the red zone
since the playoff loss to Denver). Nevertheless, the Patriots won
their 18th game of the season, 21–12, to advance to the Super Bowl
for the fourth time in seven seasons. Tom Brady, with the 100th win
of his career, also set an NFL record for the fewest games needed by
a starting quarterback to do so: his 100–26 record is sixteen games
better than Joe Montana's.[63] In Super Bowl XLII, Tom Brady was
pressured heavily and sacked five times. The Patriots did manage to
take the lead with a Tom Brady touchdown to Moss with less than
three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Giants were
able to score a last-minute touchdown to upset the Patriots 17–14.
2008 season
Tom Brady did not play in any games during the 2008 preseason due to
a right foot injury from the previous AFC Championship game.[64] In
the Patriots' 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs at
Gillette Stadium, Tom Brady's left knee was seriously injured midway
through the first quarter on a hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard;
he left the game and did not return. The team later confirmed that
Tom Brady would need surgery, and that he had been placed on injured
reserve for the remainder of the season.[65] It is believed he tore
both his anterior cruciate ligament and his medial collateral
ligament.[66] The injury ended Tom Brady's streak of 111 consecutive
starts (fourth in the list of most consecutive starts by an NFL
quarterback, behind Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Ron Jaworski).[67]
Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the anterior cruciate ligament
reconstruction at the Los Angeles Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic
October 6, using Tom Brady's patellar tendon graft to replace the
torn ligament, and also repaired his medial collateral ligament,
through a separate incision in his left knee.[68] An infection in
the wound resulted in further debridement surgery several times
since the original procedure. Tom Brady received IV antibiotics for
this infection which, at the time, threatened to delay his
rehab.[69][70]
2009 season
In his first game back from injury, Tom Brady threw for 378 yards
and two touchdowns in the 2009 season opener against the Buffalo
Bills. In the final minutes of the game, the Patriots were down
24–13 before Tom Brady and Benjamin Watson connected on two straight
touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 25–24 win. Tom Brady was named
the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 13th time in his career
for his performance.[71]
On October 18, 2009, in an early season snowstorm, Tom Brady set an
NFL record against the Tennessee Titans for most touchdowns in a
single quarter, throwing five in the second quarter. Tom Brady
finished the game with six touchdowns, tying his career best, and
380 yards, completing 29 of 34 attempts, finishing with a nearly
perfect passer rating of 152.8.[72] The Patriots' 59–0 victory over
the Titans tied the record for the largest margin of victory since
the 1970 AFL-NFL merger,[73] and set a record for largest halftime
lead in NFL history (they led 45–0).
Tom Brady would finish the 2009 regular season with 4,398 yards
passing and 28 touchdowns for a 96.2 rating,[24] despite a broken
right ring finger and three fractured ribs, all which were suffered
over the course of the season.[74] Tom Brady was selected as a
reserve to the 2010 Pro Bowl and named the 2009 NFL Comeback Player
of the Year.[75]
Tom Brady ended the 2009 season throwing 3 interceptions in a Wild
Card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, 33–14, his first career
home playoff loss, and the first playoff loss at home by a New
England Patriots quarterback since 1978.[76]
2010 season
On September 10, 2010, Tom Brady signed a four-year, $72 million
contract extension making him the highest-paid player in the NFL.
The extension included $48.5 million in guaranteed money and will
likely keep Tom Brady with the Patriots through the 2014 NFL
season.[77]
Tom Brady became the quickest to achieve 100 regular season wins by
helping his team defeat the Miami Dolphins 41–14 on October 4,
2010.[78]
On November 21, 2010, Tom Brady tied Brett Favre's record of winning
25 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 31–28 win over the
Indianapolis Colts.[79] Tom Brady's last regular-season loss at home
was on November 12, 2006, a 17–14 loss to the New York Jets.[80] On
December 6, 2010, Tom Brady set an NFL record by winning 26
consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 45–3 victory over the
New York Jets.[81]
Tom Brady threw for 3,900 yards with 36 touchdowns and just four
interceptions on the season.[24] Tom Brady had an 111.0 passer
rating, giving him, at the time, two of the top five season ratings
in NFL history, and making him the first player to finish with a
rating above 110 in two different seasons.[82]
Tom Brady was selected as a starter to the 2011 Pro Bowl. However,
he pulled out of the game (and was replaced by former backup Matt
Cassel of the Kansas City Chiefs) after undergoing surgery for a
stress fracture in his right foot dating back to 2008.[83] Tom Brady
was also the only unanimous selection for the AP All-Pro Team and
was named the 2010 Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the
Year. Tom Brady also achieved, by unanimous decision, the MVP award
for the second time in his career.[84]
2011 season
Tom Brady in Denver, Colorado, on December 18, 2011, as the Patriots
and Broncos were set to play.
In Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season, Tom Brady threw for 517 yards and
4 touchdowns, with one interception, against the Miami Dolphins, the
second time he had thrown for 400 or more yards in a single
game.[85][86]
In the regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills, Tom Brady
became the fourth quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a single
season, finishing with 5,235; it surpassed Dan Marino's longstanding
record of 5,084 passing yards, but finished the season second behind
Drew Brees' 5,476.[24]
2011 postseason
In the Patriots' 45–10 rout of the Denver Broncos in the Divisional
round, Tom Brady set a personal postseason best with 363 passing
yards, and tied an NFL record shared by Daryle Lamonica and Steve
Young, throwing for 6 touchdown passes.[87] The win, his first
postseason win since January 2008, gave Tom Brady and Patriots head
coach Bill Belichick sole possession of the NFL record for
postseason wins by a QB-coach combo with 15.[88] In the AFC
Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens, Tom Brady failed to
throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 36 games, though he did
pass for 239 yards and scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown late in the
game. The Patriots were the beneficiaries of a missed field goal
from Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff that saw the Tom Brady and Patriots
reach their fifth Super Bowl since Tom Brady joined the team.[89] In
Super Bowl XLVI, Tom Brady and the Patriots met the New York Giants,
meeting in the Championship for the second time in five years. Tom
Brady played well, leading a Super Bowl record-tying 96-yard
touchdown drive to close the first half and at one point completing
16 passes in the row for a 20/23 mark partway into the third
quarter, another Super Bowl record. In all, he recorded two
touchdowns, one interception, and was penalized for intentional
grounding in the end zone, leading to a crucial safety for the
Giants. A final score of 21–17 for the Giants would keep Tom Brady
from winning his fourth Super Bowl.[90]
Personal life
Tom Brady dated actress Bridget Moynahan from 2004 until late
2006.[91] On February 18, 2007, Moynahan confirmed to People
magazine that she was more than three months pregnant with her and
Tom Brady's child.[91][92] Tom Brady and Moynahan ended their
relationship sometime in early December 2006, around the time
Moynahan became pregnant.[93] Tom Brady was present when their son,
John Edward Thomas Moynahan,[94] was born on August 22, 2007 at
Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.[95] John's
middle names are Tom Brady's own first and middle names in reverse
order, while Moynahan's father's first name is Edward.
Tom Brady married Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen on February
26, 2009 in an intimate Catholic ceremony in Santa Monica.[96][97]
On September 11, 2009, Tom Brady confirmed to ESPN that they were
expecting their first child together, and that Bündchen was due in
December 2009.[98] Bündchen gave birth to their son, Benjamin Rein
Tom Brady, on December 8, 2009.[99] Benjamin's middle name is a
shortened version of Bündchen's father's name Reinoldo.[100] They
christened their six-month-old son in Santa Monica on June 22,
2010.[3] The couple is expecting their second child in December
2012.
Tom Brady has also been featured as a guest star on some popular
television programs, hosting Saturday Night Live in 2005[101] and
appearing on The Simpsons in 2005 and Family Guy in 2006, with both
episodes ("Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass and "Patriot Games") being
football themed and broadcast within a week of that year's Super
Bowl.[102][103]
