Brady goes from 199th pick to one of the all-time greats
Tom Brady has been a fixture in the National Football League for more than 20 years.
The 43-year-old’s success as a quarterback with New England Patriots and his path to earning six Super Bowl rings is no secret. Leaving the Patriots for a two-year, $50 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made major headlines earlier this year. And now, he’s heading to his 10th championship, Super Bowl LV.
But what else is there to know about the king of the NFL? From his early years to his new home in Tampa Bay, here’s a rundown of facts you may not know about the quarterback many have dubbed the GOAT, or “Greatest Of All Time.”
Family matters: Where is
Tom Brady from?
Brady was born in San Mateo, California on August 3, 1977, to Thomas Brady Sr. and Galynn Patricia. He has three older sisters, Nancy, Julie, and Maureen.
Brady dated Bridget Moynahan from 2004 until late 2006 and has one son with the actress, John Edward Thomas Moynahan.
Brady was set up on a blind date with Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen in December 2006. Brady and Bündchen married in 2009 and have two children, a son named Benjamin Rein and a daughter named Vivian Lake.
The early years
Brady was recruited out of high school and signed to play football for the University of Michigan in 1995.
He played for Michigan from 1995 to 1999 and started every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Brady was an All-big Ten honorable mention both seasons and was the team captain in his senior year.
The NFL and the
Patriots era
Brady was not selected in the first round of his NFL Draft class. He was selected by the New England Patriots with the 199th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
He became the starting quarterback during his second season and began to gain notoriety as he led the Patriots to win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Brady went on to spend 20 seasons of his career with the Patriots — an NFL record for the longest time playing quarterback for one franchise.
Over his career, Brady has won three league MVP awards, six Super Bowls, and four Super Bowl MVP awards and has been to the Pro Bowl 14 times.
Leaving New England
Salary cap, free agency and personnel issues contributed to Brady’s departure. To put it simply, New England didn’t have much to offer Brady, while the Buccaneers had the perfect combination of talent and money.
Moving on with the
Buccaneers
Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 20, 2020.
The two-year contract was worth $50 million in fully guaranteed money, with up to $4.5 million each year in incentives.
The move proved to be a good one, as Brady has led the team to an 11-5 record in the NFC and a trip to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2003.
Making Tampa Bay home —
literally
Brady lives on Tampa Bay in Davis Islands. Upon signing with the Bucs, Brady and his family moved into a 30,000-square-foot mansion owned by Miami Marlins Ceo/co-owner and former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
The home, located six miles from the Bucs’ facilities, includes seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, an entertainment room, billiards room, and two boat lifts that open way to Tampa Bay. Jeter lived there during his playing days during offseasons, finishing its full construction in 2011.
He’s heading to his 10th
Super Bowl
Brady will play in his 10th Super Bowl next week, carrying with him an impressive record of 6-3 in past appearances.
He owns a slew of Super Bowl records. Here are just a few:
Most Super Bowl MVPS: 4 Most wins: 6
Most total yards thrown: 2,838 yards
Most yards in one Super Bowl: 505
Most passing TDS: 18
Things you may not know
about TB12
He almost played professional baseball: Brady was a multisport athlete in high school and played football, baseball and basketball. He was selected in the 18th round of the 1998 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos, but he knew his goal was to play football at the next level.
His idol was Joe Montana: Brady was a San Francisco 49ers fan growing up and idolized Joe Montana.
He follows a strict diet: Brady follows his own diet called the TB12 Method where he drinks a few hundred ounces of water per day and avoids most fruits, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, coffee, Gatorade, white sugar, flour, gluten, dairy, soda, cereal, white rice, potatoes, and bread.
Too many rings: With six Super Bowl rings, Brady has more rings than fingers on one hand and is the only active player in the NFL to accomplish that.
He’s really into fashion: From dressing to the nines for Met Galas with his wife and sporting unique postgame looks, Brady is known for his strong fashion game.