Tom Brady was a star quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He gained national fame for leading the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to seven Super Bowl victories.
Credit: © Bob Rosato, Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

On Wednesday, February 1st, 2023, the legendary quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement for the second time. After 23 years in the National Football League, he explained this retirement was official and permanent. Brady had announced his retirement exactly one year before but reversed his decision after six weeks. He played the 2022 to 2023 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady exits the NFL as the most accomplished player in football history.

Brady played for the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2020 and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2020 to 2023. Brady gained national fame for leading the Patriots and Buccaneers to seven Super Bowl victories. He led the Patriots to victory against the St. Louis Rams (now the Los Angeles Rams) in 2002, the Carolina Panthers in 2004, the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005, the Seattle Seahawks in 2015, the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, and the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. In 2021, he led the Buccaneers to victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady is the only quarterback to win seven Super Bowls. He was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player in 2002, 2004, 2015, 2017, and 2021. He was also named the NFL Most Valuable Player for the 2007, 2010, and 2017 seasons.

During his NFL career, Brady was known for his leadership qualities and his accurate passing. Brady completed more passes (7,753), threw for more yards (89,214), and threw more touchdown passes (649) than any other quarterback in NFL history. He also won more regular season games (251) and more playoff games (35) than any other quarterback. Brady is the only quarterback with more than 10,000 career playoff passing yards. In 2022, he became the first quarterback with a combined total of 100,000 career regular season and playoff passing yards. During the 2007 regular season, Brady threw 50 touchdown passes, an NFL record until Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos broke it by throwing 55 touchdown passes in 2013. During his career, Brady led the NFL in passing touchdowns five times (2002, 2007, 2010, 2015, and 2021) and passing yards four times (2005, 2007, 2017, and 2021).

Thomas Edward Brady, Jr., was born on Aug. 3, 1977, in San Mateo, California. He played college football at the University of Michigan. He graduated in December 1999. The Patriots selected Brady in the sixth round of the NFL draft in 2000. He was the 199th player picked. Brady appeared in only one game in his rookie season. He became the team’s starting quarterback early in the 2001 season after regular quarterback Drew Bledsoe was injured.

In April 2015, the NFL accused Brady and the Patriots of involvement in illegally deflating footballs used in the American Conference championship game between New England and the Indianapolis Colts in January 2015. The league suspended Brady for four games, fined New England $1 million, and stripped the Patriots of two draft picks. In 2020, Brady left the Patriots to play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

February 6, 2019

On Sunday, February 3, the New England Patriots downed the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII (53), the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). In the lowest scoring game in Super Bowl history, the Rams and Patriots both exhibited stellar defenses, but only the Patriots managed to reach the end zone at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in Atlanta, Georgia. With the slow-paced victory, the Patriots joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only NFL teams with six Super Bowl titles. New England quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick became the first six-time individual Super Bowl champions in NFL history.

On Feb. 3, 2019, Patriots running back Sony Michel scores the only touchdown of Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Credit: © Maddie Meyer, Getty Images

Sunday’s game was a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI (36), in which New England beat the Rams 20-17.  It was the 11th Super Bowl appearance for the Patriots, the most of any NFL team. It was the fourth Super Bowl for the Rams, whose only title came in Super Bowl XXXIV (34), a 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

The game’s opening minutes forecast the offensive doldrums to come. The Rams intercepted Brady’s first pass attempt, ending a promising drive, and the Patriots managed only a 42-yard field goal through the game’s first two quarters. The Rams’ offense struggled even more, barely pushing the ball past midfield and punting on all six first half possessions.

The Rams eked out a 53-yard field goal to tie the game in the third quarter, but Brady and the Patriots responded with the difference-making scoring drive in the fourth. Starting at the New England 31-yard line, Brady completed four quick passes, the last of which found tight end Rob Gronkowski on the Rams’ two-yard line. From there, running back Sony Michel punched the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point made it 10-3 Patriots.

With more than four minutes remaining in the game, the Rams had plenty of time to mount a comeback. Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff completed three passes to reach the New England 44-yard line. Taking a shot at the end zone, a Goff pass fell incomplete. On the next play, Goff tried again, but this time the pass was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Taking over the ball at their own four-yard line, New England put the nails in the Los Angeles coffin by eating up three minutes on a drive that ended with a 41-yard field goal and a 13-3 lead. With a minute to play, Los Angeles scraped together a desperate drive that led to a missed field goal and the end of the game.

Playing in his first Super Bowl, Jared Goff completed 19 of 38 pass attempts for 229 yards and no touchdowns. Playing in his ninth Super Bowl, Tom Brady’s just-good-enough stats included connecting on 21 of 35 pass attempts for 262 yards and no touchdowns. With 10 catches for 141 yards, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

The 13-3 final score was the lowest in Super Bowl history. The previous record was set in 1973, when the Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII (7).

February 6, 2018

On Sunday, February 4, the Philadelphia Eagles upset the favored New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII (52), the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The Eagles and Patriots battled throughout the game, which went down to the wire as a last-second Patriots touchdown pass attempt fell harmlessly in the end zone at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the first Super Bowl title for the Eagles, who last won an NFL title in 1960. (The first Super Bowl was not played until 1967.)

Tight end Zach Ertz scores the go-ahead touchdown for the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Feb. 4, 2018. The Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 for the team’s first Super Bowl title. Credit: © Patrick Smith, Getty Images

Sunday’s game was a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX (39), which New England won 24-21. The Eagles also lost Super Bowl XV (15) to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10. It was the 10th Super Bowl appearance for the Patriots, the most of any NFL team. The Eagles’ victory was met with euphoria in Philadelphia, while the reaction was understandably more subdued in wintry New England, a region denied its sixth Super Bowl title.

The Eagles led for much of the exciting game, but the Patriots pulled ahead in the fourth quarter and it began to look as though New England was on its way to another title. But the Eagles snatched the lead back with only minutes to go as Philadelphia tight end Zach Ertz caught a short pass and dived across the goal line for a touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham forced a fumble from New England superstar quarterback Tom Brady, and the Eagles recovered. A field goal put Philadelphia up eight points with just over a minute remaining. The Patriots, masters of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, drove to midfield for one last shot at the end zone (a touchdown and two-point conversion would have sent the game into overtime). But the comeback threat ended there: Brady’s long “Hail Mary” pass fell to the ground as the clock went “double zero.”

Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles capped a remarkable season that saw him rise from backup to Superbowl Most Valuable Player. With just three games remaining in the regular season, Foles replaced Eagles sensational sophomore quarterback Carson Wentz, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in early December. In the Super Bowl, Foles threw for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass on a brilliant fourth-down play late in the second quarter. Foles is the only quarterback in Super Bowl history to throw a touchdown pass and catch one as well. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a Super Bowl champion in just his second season with the team.

A number of Super Bowl records were set during Sunday’s game. The Eagles and Patriots combined for the most yards of total offense (1,151). With 505 passing yards, Brady broke his own record of 466 yards set last year. It was a record eighth Super Bowl for Brady, who, at age 40, is the oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. It was also a record eighth Super Bowl appearance for New England head coach Bill Belichick. New England’s 33 points were the most for a losing team in Super Bowl history. The Patriots, winners of five Super Bowls, have also now lost five Super Bowls, a dubious honor shared only by the Denver Broncos.

Justin Timberlake provided the halftime entertainment at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, a miniconcert medley that included a tribute to Prince, a favorite son of Minneapolis who passed away in 2016.

February 7, 2017

On Sunday, February 5, the New England Patriots overcame a 25-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in Super Bowl LI (51), the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The Patriots trailed 28-3 before rattling off 31 unanswered points to complete the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, winning in overtime at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. It was the fifth Super Bowl victory for the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady, who won the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award for a record fourth time.

A 2-point conversion by New England Patriots receiver Danny Amendola ties the score at 28-28 late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 5, 2017. The Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime. Credit: © Ronald Martinez, Getty Images

The game began rather quietly as neither team scored in the first quarter. The Falcons exploded for three touchdowns in the second quarter, however, taking a dominating 21-3 lead into halftime. No team had ever come back to win from more than 10 points down in a Super Bowl, and many Falcons fans began celebrating early.

After a vivacious halftime musical performance by Lady Gaga, Atlanta resumed the romp, adding a touchdown to make the score 28-3 with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter. New England refused to quit, however, notching their first touchdown (but missing the extra point) for a 28-9 score at the end of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, a Patriots field goal put the game at 28-12 with 9:44 to play. At that point, statisticians had Atlanta’s win probability at over 99 percent—but no one told Tom Brady and the Patriots, who turned a Falcons fumble into a quick touchdown. A 2-point conversion put the score at 28-20. The Falcons drove downfield on their next possession, getting within field goal range. But a Patriots sack of Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and a holding penalty put the Falcons in reverse and they were forced to punt.

Brady, already one of the most storied quarterbacks in the history of American football, then decided to add to his legacy. He led New England on a 10-play, 91-yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back James White as the clocked ticked under 1 minute to play. A 2-point conversion was still needed to tie the game, so that’s what Brady delivered. He tossed the ball into the hands of receiver Danny Amendola, who pushed the ball over the goal line: 28-28. The final seconds of the fourth quarter ticked away uneventfully and, for the first time in Super Bowl history, the game went into overtime.

The Patriots won the coin toss, allowing them to take the ball first in overtime. With momentum—and, seemingly, fate—firmly on their side, Brady again led New England downfield. The Patriots marched 75 yards on 8 plays, winning the game on a 2-yard White run into the end zone: New England 34, Atlanta 28. The Patriots erupted in jubilation as a clearly stunned and disbelieving Atlanta team shuffled slowly off the field.

February 2, 2015

Yesterday, the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 to win Super Bowl XLIX, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game was played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona. New England cornerback Malcolm Butler, a rookie, was the hero of the game when he intercepted a pass thrown by Seattle’s Russell Wilson in the end zone with 20 seconds left in the game. Fans and football experts questioned the decision made by the Seahawks coaching staff to pass the ball instead of handing the ball off to star running back Marshawn Lynch.

Malcolm Butler (left) of the New England Patriots intercepts a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks Ricardo Lockette during the last seconds of NFL Super Bowl XLIX. Butler’s interception secured the win for the Patriots. Credit: AP Photo

In the first half, both teams scored two touchdowns. The Seahawks scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 24-14 lead. Tom Brady, the Patriots quarterback, then led his team to two fourth quarter touchdowns drives to take a 28-24 lead. The Seahawks got the ball back with about 2 minutes left and drove to the Patriots’s 1-yard line before Butler’s interception. Brady, who won his fourth Super Bowl in his record sixth appearance, was named the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the game.

In other Super Bowl events, pop star Katy Perry provided the entertainment at halftime, entering on a giant tiger and later performing with dancers dressed as sharks. For Super Bowl commercials, Budweiser won the hearts of viewers as they did in 2014 with horses and a puppy. This year, the Clydesdale horses helped a lost puppy get safely home.

Other World Book articles: 

• Football (2002-a Back in time article)
• Football (2004-a Back in time article)
• Football (2005-a Back in time article