Tom Brady

Thomas Edward Patrick “Tom” Brady, Jr. (August 3, 1977-) is an NFL quarterback who has spent the bulk of his professional career with the New England Patriots. New England selected Brady in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of the University of Michigan. In his career he has taken his teams to nine Super Bowls, winning seven of them. He also received five Super Bowl MVP awards; the only player to do so. In 2007, he led the Pats to the first undefeated regular season since the institution of the 16-game schedule, but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. That same year (2007), he became the first quarterback to throw 50 touchdowns in the regular season, since eclipsed by Denver Broncos Peyton Manning in 2013 with 55. Following their triumphant 2014 season, the Patriots and specifically Brady were investigated for possibly deflating footballs during the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts. Brady and the Pats were fined and suspended, although he did not serve the four-game suspension until the 2016 season due to the appeals process. The Patriots lost to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in the 2015 AFC Championship Game, and then followed up the next season with a victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Two years later he led the Patriots to victory is Super Bowl LIII, a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. 

Tom Brady left the Patriots following the 2019 season. It was a league-shattering split from head coach Bill Belichick, with whom Brady had enjoyed more success than any quarterback-coach duo before them. He signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and convinced his former Patriots tight end, Rob Gronkowski, to come out of retirement and join him. The two led their new team to an 11-5 regular season record and a spot in the NFC Wild Card Game. The Bucs swept through the postseason and ended Brady's storybook season with a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. It was Brady's seventh Super Bowl title, more than any other player in NFL history. He played one final season in 2021, and led Tampa Bay to a 13-4 record in the NFL's first 17-game season, but lost a 30-27 contest to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL Divisional Game.

The legendary quarterback announced his retirement shortly after his 2021 season ended. While there is much discussion about the GOAT in different sports and various positions, there is little question that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. He retired as the NFL's all-time leader with 7,263 completions, 84,520 passing yards, 624 touchdown passes 243 regular season wins and seven Super Bowl victories. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player three times, Offensive Player of the Year twice and a member of the NFL's 2000s and 2010s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. Perhaps most impressively, in his 22nd-and-final NFL season, at 44 years of age, Brady led the league in pass attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns.