Overview Brady's success has been attributed to his work ethic, competitive spirit, pocket awareness, and intelligence with him generally being a
pocket passer that lacked mobility during his entire career. Across 23 seasons, he started 333 regular season and 48 playoff games, the most for an NFL quarterback, spending 20 seasons with the Patriots and three with the Buccaneers. He won 251 regular season and 35 postseason games, the most in NFL history, and is the only quarterback to win 200 regular season games. He won 17 AFC East titles with New England and led Tampa Bay to a wild card berth in 2020 and NFC South titles in 2021 and 2022. Brady is the only quarterback to lead a team to a 16–0 regular season (2007), became one of four quarterbacks to defeat all 32 teams in 2021, holds the most Pro Bowl selections (15), and was named league MVP three times (2007, 2010, 2017), with his 2010 award being the first unanimous MVP. Brady's 21 seasons as the primary starter led to seven
Super Bowl titles, the most of any player and more than any NFL franchise. He appeared in a record10 Super Bowls and is one of two quarterbacks, along with
Peyton Manning, to win with multiple franchises, earning six titles with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers. Brady holds the record for
Super Bowl MVP awards with five and is the only player to win it with multiple teams. Holding nearly every major quarterback record, he is the all-time leader in passing yards, attempts, and touchdowns in both the regular season and playoffs, the only quarterback with 600 career regular-season touchdowns, and the record holder for completions. In 333 career starts, he is the only quarterback with three separate streaks of over 100 consecutive starts, with his first ending due to injury in 2008 and his second due to suspension in 2016. His longevity led to multiple age-related records. On the Patriots, Brady and head coach
Bill Belichick formed the NFL's most successful quarterback–head coach tandem, leading the team's dynasty from 2001 to 2019, commonly referred to as the
Brady–Belichick era. The Patriots' dynasty is one of the greatest in sports history, with Brady's contributions helping the team set records for Super Bowl appearances (11) and wins (6, tied with the
Pittsburgh Steelers). In Brady's first season as the primary starter, the Patriots won their first championship in
Super Bowl XXXVI, followed by consecutive titles in
2003 and
2004. The Patriots won an NFL-record 21 consecutive games (regular season and playoffs) during this period, while Brady won his first 10 consecutive postseason games, another record. When Brady signed with Tampa Bay in 2020, the team had not reached the postseason since 2007 or won a playoff game since 2002. One of the NFL's most decorated and accomplished players, Brady is widely cited as the greatest quarterback of all time. He is considered one of NFL's greatest players of all time and one of the greatest athletes in sports history.
New England Patriots 2000: Draft and rookie season on the bench Brady was a lightly regarded prospect coming out of college, with an unimpressive
NFL Scouting Combine performance reinforcing this reputation. As a result, he was not selected until the sixth round of the
2000 NFL draft by the
New England Patriots, 199th overall, a compensatory pick the Patriots earned due to the loss of punter
Tom Tupa, and he was the seventh quarterback taken. Brady and his family believed he would be drafted in the second or third round; they watched on television, stunned as six other quarterbacks were drafted before him. Brady was so embarrassed he briefly left the family home during the sixth round and cried when recalling the experience for an interview 11 years later. Brady later said that when the Patriots notified him he would be drafted, he was grateful he would not "have to be an insurance salesman". According to
Michael Holley's book
Patriot Reign, the Patriots were considering Brady and
Tim Rattay, both of whom had received positive reviews from then-quarterbacks coach
Dick Rehbein. Ultimately, the Patriots front office chose Brady. Considering his success, many analysts have called Brady the best NFL draft pick of all time. Patriots owner
Robert Kraft recalled: "I still have the image of Tom Brady coming down the old
Foxboro Stadium steps with that pizza box under his arm, a skinny beanpole, and when he introduced himself to me and said 'Hi Mr. Kraft,' he was about to say who he was, but I said 'I know who you are, you're Tom Brady. You're our sixth round draft choice,'" recalled Kraft. "And he looked me in the eye and said 'I'm the best decision this organization has ever made.' It looks like he could be right." Brady started the 2000 season as the fourth-string quarterback, behind starter
Drew Bledsoe and backups
John Friesz and
Michael Bishop; by
the end of the season, he was number two on the depth chart behind Bledsoe. During his rookie season, he was 1-for-3 passing, for six yards. Tight end
Rod Rutledge caught Brady's first and only completed pass of the season in a 34–9 loss to the
Detroit Lions.
2001: Taking over as starter and first Super Bowl victory With Bledsoe as starting quarterback, the Patriots opened the
2001 season with a 23–17 road loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals. In their second game and home opener on September 23, the Patriots squared off against their
AFC East rivals, the
New York Jets. Bledsoe was again the starter; 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 Brady for the Patriots' final series of the game. New York held on to win 10–3, and the Patriots fell to 0–2 on the season. Brady was named the starter for the season's third game, against the
Indianapolis Colts, in which the Patriots posted a 44–13 win. In the Patriots' fifth game, Brady began to find his stride. Trailing the visiting
San Diego Chargers 26–16 in the fourth quarter, he led the Patriots on two scoring drives to force overtime, and another in overtime to set up a winning field goal for a 29–26 victory. Brady finished with 33 of 54, for 364 yards and two touchdowns, and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time. The following week, Brady again played well during the rematch at Indianapolis, with a passer rating of 148.3 in a 38–17 win. Brady won his second AFC Offensive Player of the Week nomination after a four-touchdown day in a 34–17 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 11. The Patriots went on to win eleven of the fourteen games Brady started, and six straight to finish the regular season, winning the AFC East and entering the
NFL playoffs with a first-round bye. He finished the 2001 season with 2,843 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, earning an invitation to the
Pro Bowl. In Brady's
first playoff game, he threw for 312 yards against the
Oakland Raiders and led the Patriots back from a ten-point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime, where they won on a field goal 16–13. A controversial play occurred in the fourth quarter. Trailing by three points, Brady lost control of the ball after being hit by Raiders cornerback and former Michigan teammate
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 bodyreferee
Walt Coleman overturned the call on
instant replay, ruling it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble. Brady finished the game 32-of-52 for 312 passing yards and one interception. In the
AFC Championship Game against the Steelers, Brady injured his knee, and he was relieved by Bledsoe. The Patriots won the game by a score of 24–17. Subsequently, Las Vegas oddsmakers positioned them as 14-point
underdogs against the
NFC champion
St. Louis Rams in
Super Bowl XXXVI. Brady returned from his knee injury to start in the Super Bowl at the
Louisiana Superdome in
New Orleans. Despite being heavy underdogs, the Patriots played well, holding the Rams' high-powered offense in check through the first three quarters. The Rams rallied from a 17–3 deficit to tie the game with 1:30 left in regulation. The Patriots then got the ball back at their own 17-yard line with no timeouts remaining. Sportscaster and former Super Bowl-winning coach
John Madden argued that the Patriots should run out the clock and try to win in overtime. Instead, Brady drove the Patriots' offense down the field to the Rams' 31-yard line before spiking the ball with seven seconds left. Kicker
Adam Vinatieri converted a 48-yard
field goal as time expired to give the Patriots a 20–17 win and their first ever league championship. When discussing the game-winning drive, Madden stated that "what Tom Brady just did, gives me goosebumps". Brady was named Super Bowl MVP while throwing for 145 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. Aged 24 years and 6 months, Brady became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, surpassing
Joe Namath (
III) and Joe Montana (
XVI). Bledsoe was traded to the
Buffalo Bills in April, which cemented Brady's status as the Patriots' starting quarterback in
2002.
2002 season In the Patriots' season opener, Brady had 294 passing yards and three touchdowns in the 30–14 win over the Steelers, and earned his third AFC Offensive Player of the Week title. In Week 9, Brady won his second AFC Offensive Player of the Week title for a three-touchdown game in a 38–7 win over Buffalo. Brady and the Patriots finished the
season at 9–7, tied with the Jets and
Miami Dolphins for the best record in the division; however, the Patriots lost the division title to the Jets on tiebreakers. Additionally, the Patriots lost the tiebreaker to the
Cleveland Browns for the final wild card spot, causing them to miss the playoffs. Though Brady posted a career-low single-season passer rating of 85.7 and a career high of 14
interceptions, he threw for a league-leading 28 touchdown passes.
2003 and 2004 seasons: Back-to-back Super Bowl wins After opening the
2003 season at 2–2, Brady led the Patriots to twelve consecutive victories to finish the regular season at 14–2 to win the AFC East. In Week 14, a 12–0 victory over the Dolphins, he recorded a 36-yard punt. He won AFC Offensive Player of the Week twice, in Weeks 9 and 17. Brady finished with 3,620 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, and was third in NFL MVP voting to co-winners Peyton Manning and
Steve McNair. After earning a first-round bye, the Patriots defeated the
Tennessee Titans in the
Divisional Round, 17–14. In the
AFC Championship Game, they defeated the Colts, 24–14. In
Super Bowl XXXVIII, Brady led the Patriots to a 32–29 victory over the NFC champion
Carolina Panthers and was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time. Brady threw for 354 yards with three touchdowns and set the record for most completions by a quarterback in a Super Bowl with 32. With 1:08 left in the fourth quarter and the score tied 29–29, Brady led a drive with five completions to put the Patriots in position for the game-winning 41-yard field goal by Vinatieri. During the
2004 season, 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 (for official records, the NFL considers it an 18-game regular season winning streak; it does not count playoff games). New England finished with a 14–2 record, equaling their 2003 record and the best regular-season record ever for a defending champion at the time (though this would later be surpassed by the
2011 Green Bay Packers, who defended their
2010 championship season with a 15–1 record). The Patriots also won the AFC East title for the third time in four years. Brady threw for 3,692 yards and 28 touchdowns, with a 92.6 passer rating, and was voted to his second Pro Bowl. In the playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to wins over the Colts in the
Divisional Round by a score of 20–3 and the Steelers in the
AFC Championship by a score of 41–27. Brady played his best game of the year in Pittsburgh despite requiring
intravenous therapy the previous night when he ran a temperature of 103 °F. Against the NFL's best defense, Up until the 2023 season, the 2004 New England Patriots were the last NFL team to win a second straight Super Bowl. Brady threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
2005 and 2006 seasons During the
2005 season, injuries suffered by running backs forced the Patriots to rely more on Brady's passing. Brady had to adjust to new center
Russ Hochstein and running back
Heath Evans. Brady won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Week 5 350-yard, three-touchdown victory over the Falcons. Brady finished the season with 4,110 yards and 26 touchdowns, the former of which led the league. He and the Patriots finished with a 10–6 record, winning their third straight AFC East title. He was named to his third
Pro Bowl. In the playoffs, Brady recorded 201 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 28–3 victory over the
Jacksonville Jaguars in the
Wild Card Round. In the
Divisional Round the Patriots lost 27–13 to the
Denver Broncos. Brady threw for 341 yards in the game with one touchdown and two interceptions in his first playoff loss, after ten victories. After the season's end, it was revealed Brady had been playing with a
sports hernia since December. In 2006, Brady led the Patriots to a 12–4 record and the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs. Brady finished the regular season with 3,529 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was not among the players initially selected to the Pro Bowl, though was offered an injury-replacement selection when Chargers quarterback
Philip Rivers was forced to withdraw; Brady declined. In the postseason, the Patriots first hosted their division rivals, the Jets, in the
Wild Card Round. The Patriots defeated the Jets 37–16, as Brady went 22–34 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots traveled to
San Diego to take on the Chargers in the
Divisional Round. This was Brady's first playoff game in his home state of California. The Patriots struggled against the Chargers, whom many had picked as favorites to win
Super Bowl XLI. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Patriots down by eight, Brady and the Patriots started a drive that ultimately decided the game. Brady threw a fourth-down interception to safety
Marlon McCree, but wide receiver
Troy Brown forced a fumble on McCree that wide receiver
Reche Caldwell recovered to convert the first down. With a new set of downs, Brady threw a touchdown pass to Caldwell and Faulk scored the two-point conversion to tie the game. On what would be the Patriots' final drive, Brady threw a 49-yard pass play to Caldwell, setting-up a field goal that gave New England a 24–21 lead with 1:10 remaining. The Chargers drove down the field, but missed a game-tying field goal attempt, as the Patriots held on to win. In the
AFC Championship, the Patriots traveled to Indianapolis to play the Colts. The Patriots led at halftime, 21–6; however, Peyton Manning led the Colts to a comeback. Brady threw a late-game interception and the Patriots lost, 38–34. Brady finished the loss 21 of 34 for 232 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
2007: Perfect regular season and first MVP season in 2007 Playing with an overhauled receiver corps—in the
2007 off-season, the Patriots acquired wide receivers
Donté Stallworth,
Wes Welker,
Kelley Washington, and
Randy Moss; tight end
Kyle Brady; and running back
Sammy Morris—Brady enjoyed one of the best seasons by a quarterback. Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September and October. Brady led the Patriots to the first 16–0 regular-season record in NFL history, outscoring opponents by an average of 37–17. He attained career, franchise, and NFL records and milestones in the process. He was named as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week five times. In a Week 6 game against the
Dallas Cowboys, he had a career-high five passing touchdowns in a 48–27 win. The win tied him with Hall of Fame quarterback
Roger Staubach for the most wins by a starting quarterback, in his first 100 regular-season starts, with 76. The next week, in part of a 49–28 win against the Dolphins, he had another record day, with a career-high six passing touchdowns, setting a franchise record. He had the first game with a
perfect passer rating of his career. As part of a come-from-behind 24–20 victory against the Colts, he threw for another three touchdowns, the ninth consecutive game in which he had done so, breaking Peyton Manning's record of eight. During the
last game of the season against the Giants in which the Patriots won 38–35, Brady threw his 50th touchdown of the season, breaking Manning's single-season record of 49 from 2004. Brady finished the season with 4,806 passing yards, 50 touchdown passes, eight interceptions, and a career-high 117.2 passer rating. It was unanimously voted the greatest passing season ever by
ESPN in 2013. His 50:8 touchdown to interception ratio was a then-NFL record. He became the first quarterback to pass for 50 touchdowns. He led the Patriots to the first undefeated regular season since the 16-game schedule was implemented in 1978. He directed an offense that scored a then-NFL record 589 points and 75 total touchdowns. The team's 50 total touchdown passes is the fourth-most ever in a season. Brady was named the
Most Valuable Player and
Offensive Player of the Year. He was honored by the
Associated Press as their
Male Athlete of the Year, the first time an NFL player earned the honor since Montana won in 1990. He was named as a
First-Team All-Pro and to his fourth career Pro Bowl. In the Patriots' first playoff game, a
Divisional Round game against the Jaguars, Brady began with an NFL postseason record 16 consecutive completed passes, and finished with 26 completions in 28 attempts, a completion rate of 92.9% as the Patriots won 31–20. That is the highest single-game completion percentage (with at least 20 attempts) in NFL postseason history. With the win, the Patriots matched the
undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only team to win 17 consecutive games in one season. Statistically, Brady did not fare as well in the
AFC Championship Game against the Chargers, throwing for 209 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. 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. 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. In
Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants, Brady was pressured heavily and sacked five times. The Patriots managed to take the lead with a Brady touchdown to Moss with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Giants were able to drive and score a
last-minute touchdown to upset the Patriots 17–14, taking away what would have been the first perfect season since the NFL expanded its regular season to 16 games.
2008: Injury In the Patriots'
season opener against the
Kansas City Chiefs at
Gillette Stadium (in which the Patriots won 17–10), Brady's left knee was seriously injured midway through the first quarter on a hit by Chiefs safety
Bernard Pollard; Brady left the game and did not return. The team later confirmed that he would require surgery, and it would prematurely end his 2008 season. Brady tore both his
anterior cruciate ligament and
medial collateral ligament. The injury ended Brady's streak of
111 consecutive starts. Dr.
Neal ElAttrache performed the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at the Los Angeles Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic on October 6, using 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. An infection in the wound resulted in further
debridement surgery several times since the original procedure. Brady received IV antibiotics for this infection which, at the time, threatened to delay his rehab. Despite Brady's absence, the Patriots managed to finish the 2008 season with an 11–5 record; however, due to tiebreakers, the Patriots not only failed to win the AFC East division title, but missed the playoffs altogether for the first time since the 2002 season.
2009: Return from injury on August 28, 2009 In the
2009 season opener against the Bills, Brady's first game in more than a year, he threw for 378 yards and two touchdowns. In the final three minutes of the game, the Patriots were down 24–13 before Brady and tight end
Benjamin Watson connected on two straight touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 25–24 win. He won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Bills. On October 18, 2009, under blizzard conditions, Brady set an NFL record against the Titans for most touchdowns in a quarter, throwing five in the second quarter. Brady finished the game with six touchdowns, tying his career high from the 2007 season, and 380 yards, completing 29-of-34 attempts, finishing with a nearly perfect
passer rating of 152.8. The Patriots' 59–0 victory over the Titans tied the record for the largest margin of victory since the 1970
AFL-NFL merger, and set a record for largest halftime lead in NFL history, which was 45–0. He won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Titans. Brady was later named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for October. For Week 16, Brady won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for a four-touchdown game in a 35–7 win over the Jaguars. Brady finished the 2009 regular season with 4,398 yards passing and 28 touchdowns for a 96.2 rating, despite a broken right ring finger and three fractured ribs, which were suffered over the course of the season. He was selected as a reserve to the
2010 Pro Bowl and named the 2009
NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Brady ended the 2009 season throwing for 154 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions in a 33–14
Wild Card Round loss to the
Baltimore Ravens. This was his first career home playoff loss and the Patriots' first home playoff loss since
1978.
2010: Second MVP On September 10, 2010, 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. Brady became the fastest quarterback to achieve 100 regular season wins by helping his team defeat the Dolphins 41–14 on October 4. On November 25, in a Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions, he earned a perfect passer rating for the second time in his career as the Patriots won 45–24. The next week, a 45–3 victory over the Jets, Brady set a record of 26 consecutive regular-season home wins, breaking Brett Favre's record. He won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the two games against the Lions and Jets. For December, Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month. Brady threw for 3,900 yards with 36 touchdowns and only four interceptions on the season. Brady was selected as a starter to the
2011 Pro Bowl. However, he pulled out of the game (and was replaced by his former backup
Matt Cassel, who then played for the Chiefs) after undergoing surgery for a stress fracture in his right foot dating back to 2008. Brady was also the only unanimous selection for the
AP All-Pro Team and was named the 2010
AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year. By unanimous decision, he won the
MVP award for the second time in his career. On the
inaugural NFL Top 100 Players list, Brady was ranked as the best player in the NFL by his peers. After earning the #1 seed and a bye week, the Patriots lost to the Jets in the
Divisional Round, 28–21. Brady finished the game 29-of-45 for 299 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception which ended his NFL record of consecutive pass attempts without an interception at 340.
2011: Loss in Super Bowl XLVI in 2011 In Week 1 of the
2011 season, Brady threw for a
career-high 517 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in a 38–24 win over the Dolphins and earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. In the game, he threw a record-tying
99-yard touchdown pass to
Wes Welker. Brady won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the following game against the Chargers. He had 423 yards and three touchdowns in the 35–21 victory. Brady closed out the season being named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November and December. In addition, he was the Week 16 AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Brady had a statistically successful season, and in the regular season finale against the Bills (a 49–21 win), he became the fourth quarterback to throw for
5,000 yards in a season, finishing with 5,235; although Brady surpassed
Dan Marino's longstanding record of 5,084 passing yards, he finished the season second in passing yards behind Drew Brees' 5,476. The Patriots finished the season 13–3 and clinched the AFC's #1 seed. For his efforts in the 2011 season, Brady was named to the
Pro Bowl and was named as the fourth-best player in the NFL on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2012 by his peers. Brady led the Patriots to a 45–10 win over the Broncos in the
Divisional Round, where he tied an NFL playoff record shared by
Daryle Lamonica and
Steve Young, throwing for six touchdown passes. The win gave Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sole possession of the NFL record for postseason wins by a quarterback–head coach duo with 15. In the
AFC Championship game against the Ravens, Brady failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 36 games, though he did score a one-yard rushing touchdown late in the game. A missed field goal from Ravens kicker
Billy Cundiff gave Brady and the Patriots a 23–20 victory, sending Brady to his fifth Super Bowl. In
Super Bowl XLVI, Brady and the Patriots met the Giants in a rematch of
Super Bowl XLII, which the Giants won 21–17. On the Patriots' first offensive series, Brady was penalized for
intentional grounding in the end zone, giving up a
safety which gave the Giants an early 2–0 lead. Brady would bounce back from this early blunder, leading a Super Bowl record-tying 96-yard touchdown drive to close the first half and at one point completing 16 consecutive passes to give him a 20-of-23 mark partway into the third quarter, another Super Bowl record. However, as was also the case four years earlier, the Patriots could not hold a late lead and allowed
Eli Manning to lead the Giants to a game-winning touchdown with less than a minute left, giving Brady his second career Super Bowl loss.
2012 and 2013 seasons Brady started all 16 regular season games of the
2012 season and led the Patriots to a 12–4 record. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week three times that year in Weeks 4, 8, and 14. He became the first quarterback to lead his team to ten division titles. With a 557-point total, the Patriots became the first team to score at least 500 points in a season four different times, with Brady leading all four squads, also a record. He finished the season with 4,827 passing yards, 34 touchdowns, only eight interceptions, and a passer rating of 98.7. Brady was named to the
Pro Bowl for the eighth time in his career. On the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2013, Brady was ranked fourth by his fellow players for the second consecutive year. Brady led the Patriots to a 41–28 win over the
Houston Texans in the
Divisional Round. With the victory, Brady surpassed Joe Montana for most career playoff wins, with 17. The Patriots were then upset by the eventual
Super Bowl XLVII champion Ravens, 28–13, in the
AFC Championship. He suffered his first career loss at home when leading by halftime, in which he was previously 67–0. On February 25, 2013, Brady and the Patriots agreed on a three-year contract extension, which kept him with the team through 2017. Sportswriter
Peter King called it an "amazing" deal and also noted that it reflected Patriots owner
Robert Kraft's desire to make sure that Brady retired as a Patriot. Brady and the Patriots began the season with much upheaval on the offensive side of the ball. Tight end
Rob Gronkowski was injured and
Aaron Hernandez was arrested.
Wes Welker departed to the Broncos,
Danny Woodhead left in free agency for the Chargers, and
Brandon Lloyd was released from the team. In order to replace the five players, the Patriots signed
Danny Amendola in free agency from the Rams, drafted rookie wide receivers
Aaron Dobson and
Josh Boyce, and signed undrafted rookie free agent wide receiver
Kenbrell Thompkins. In the first two games of the season, Brady completed 52% of his passes and had three touchdowns and one interception. Brady was in pursuit of Drew Brees' record of
at least one touchdown in 54 consecutive regular season games and saw the streak end at 52 games in a Week 5 13–6 loss against the Bengals. Brady earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Week 12 overtime victory over the Broncos. Brady and the Patriots would go on to finish the season well, as Brady was named to the Pro Bowl for the ninth time in his career and was ranked third on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2014 list in the off-season. The Patriots finished the season 12–4 to earn the second seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. In the
Divisional Round matchup against the Colts, Brady made his 25th playoff appearance, breaking Brett Favre's career record for playoff appearances by a quarterback. The Patriots won 43–22 behind a four-touchdown performance from running back
LeGarrette Blount. The following week, the Patriots lost 26–16 to the Broncos in the
AFC Championship.
2014: Fourth Super Bowl win Brady started the 2014 season with a 33–20 loss to the Dolphins. It was Brady's first opening day loss since the 2003 season. After going 2–1 in the next three games, Brady helped lead the Patriots to a seven-game winning streak. In that stretch, Brady had two games with four touchdown passes and one game with five. He won AFC Offensive Player of the Month for October. Brady clinched his NFL record 12th
AFC East division title with a Week 14 win against the
San Diego Chargers, later in the season. Brady was named to his tenth career
Pro Bowl and was ranked third by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2015 list. In a 35–31
Divisional Round win over the Ravens, Brady threw for three touchdowns and ran in a fourth, breaking
Curtis Martin's club record for rushing touchdowns in the playoffs; Brady also broke Joe Montana's record for playoff touchdowns with 46. After the Ravens scored on their first two possessions, the Patriots were quickly down 14–0, but would end up tying the game 14–14. Brady threw an interception at the end of the first half, which wound up leading to a Baltimore 21–14 halftime lead. Down 28–14, Brady engineered an 80-yard drive, culminating in a touchdown to Rob Gronkowski to cut the lead to 28–21. The Patriots tied the game once again at 28 off of a trick play where Brady
passed laterally to
Julian Edelman who then threw a 51-yard touchdown to Amendola. Ravens kicker
Justin Tucker converted a 25-yard field goal to give Baltimore a 31–28 fourth quarter lead. Brady got the ball back, and threw a 23-yard touchdown to wide receiver
Brandon LaFell to give the Patriots their first lead, 35–31, with 5:13 remaining. After a
Duron Harmon interception and a
Joe Flacco Hail Mary attempt failed, Brady clinched his record ninth
AFC Championship Game appearance. It was his fourth straight overall. After a 45–7 blowout of the Colts, Brady advanced to play in his sixth Super Bowl, breaking a tie with
John Elway for most career Super Bowl appearances by a quarterback. In
Super Bowl XLIX, Brady completed 37-of-50 passes for 328 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. He guided a then-record ten-point fourth quarter comeback as the Patriots defeated the
Seattle Seahawks 28–24 to give Brady his fourth
Super Bowl ring, tying him with Joe Montana and
Terry Bradshaw for most Super Bowl victories by a starting quarterback. He was named
Super Bowl MVP for the third time, tying Montana's record. Brady's 37 completed passes in the game set a Super Bowl record at the time, which Brady himself would break in Super Bowl LI two years later.
Deflategate report On May 6, 2015, the NFL published a 243-page report regarding the
deflation of footballs used in the previous season's AFC Championship Game. The report concluded that, more likely than not, Brady was at least generally aware of the intentional deflation. On May 11, Brady was suspended for four games by the NFL for his involvement based on "substantial and credible evidence" that Brady knew Patriots employees were deflating footballs and that he was uncooperative with the investigators. That day,
Troy Vincent—NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations—penned a letter to Brady that stated in part: "Your actions as set forth in the report clearly constitute conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football." Brady, through the
NFL Players Association, appealed the suspension on May 14. On July 28,
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld Brady's four-game suspension. Goodell cited Brady's destruction of his cell phone as a critical factor in his decision to uphold Brady's suspension. The NFL also filed papers in federal court seeking to confirm Roger Goodell's decision. Brady gave permission to the
NFLPA to appeal the suspension in federal court, and released a statement on his
Facebook page that expressed disappointment in and criticism of Goodell's decision to uphold the suspension. Commentary on the initial punishment was mixed.
Bleacher Report writer Mike Freeman made a statement agreeing with Goodell's decision, saying the penalties were "brutal, but it deserved to be". Various commentators also implied that the prior reputation of the Patriots organization as a team that bends rules appeared to factor into the harshness of the punishment. Others described the punishment as "firm but fair". On September 3, Judge
Richard M. Berman of the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated Brady's suspension; this ruling allowed Brady to play in the first four games of the
2015 NFL season. In his decision, Judge Berman cited the NFL's failure to provide proper notice to Brady of the charges against him and the potential for a suspension. Post-appeal commentary also criticized Goodell for "manipulating Brady's testimony" at the appeal hearing in his decision. In February 2022, sportswriter
Mike Florio revealed that the
NFL falsified data and hid information that would have cleared Brady and the Patriots of wrongdoing. In his book ''Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn't)'', Florio revealed that NFL executives, specifically vice president
Troy Vincent, jumped to conclusions about the air pressure inside the Patriots' footballs at halftime of the AFC Championship game. He also noted that 11 of the 12 Patriot footballs used in the game were actually not outside the predicted range of
Ideal gas law, and the other was only slightly below. Florio also revealed that NFL general counsel Jeff Pash ordered that the records of all PSI data gathered from the 2015 season be deleted. Leaked transcripts revealed that NFL senior VP of football operations Dave Gardi used false numbers in his letter to the Patriots which ordered that the team was to be investigated. It was also shown that Vincent did not instruct anyone to record the timing of the measurements taken, the temperature in the room during testing, if the footballs tested were wet or dry, and that he did not know which of the two air pressure gauges was used to make the pregame measurements. Vincent also admitted that he and other NFL executives never heard of the
Ideal gas law and were unaware that PSI in a football can change in certain environments.
2015 season in November 2015 In the NFL Kickoff game, Brady led the Patriots to a 28–21 win over the Steelers. He threw for 288 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots' victory was the 161st victory of Brady's career, all with the Patriots, which surpassed the record held by former
Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre for most regular season wins by a starting quarterback with a single team. In Week 2, Brady threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns in a 40–32 win against the Bills. Through the first five games of the season, Brady threw a total of 14 touchdowns with one interception and had a quarterback rating of 118.4. Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September. In Week 8, a 36–7 victory over the Dolphins, he had 356 passing yards and four touchdowns to earn his 25th career AFC Offensive Player of the Week title. Despite Brady's success, the Patriots were hit by many injuries to key players on offense, including wide receiver
Julian Edelman, and the Patriots eventually lost their first game against the Broncos 30–24 in overtime, who were without Peyton Manning, in Denver following a 10–0 start. The Patriots then lost three of their remaining five games to finish 12–4 for a fourth straight season, earning the 2-seed in the AFC. Brady finished the regular season with a league-leading 36 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He was named to his 11th Pro Bowl (seventh straight), and was ranked as the second best player on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2016 behind only league MVP
Cam Newton. With the return of
Julian Edelman from a foot injury, the Patriots defeated the Chiefs in the
Divisional Round by a score of 27–20 after advancing with a first round bye. Brady completed 28 of 42 passes for 302 yards and two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown as he led the team to their fifth consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship. The Patriots advanced to the
AFC Championship to face Peyton Manning and the Broncos at
Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
It would turn out to be the 17th and final meeting between the two storied quarterbacks, as Manning would announce his retirement after the season ended. The Broncos' top-ranked defense limited Brady, who completed 27-of-56 passes, for 310 yards, two interceptions and a passing touchdown, all day, and the Patriots eventually lost the game 20–18 after a potential game-tying two-point conversion attempt failed with less than half a minute remaining.
Deflategate suspension On February 29, 2016, Brady signed a two-year contract extension covering the 2018 and 2019 seasons. On March 3, the NFL appealed Judge
Richard M. Berman's 2015 decision to vacate Brady's four-game suspension as punishment for his alleged role in the Deflategate scandal. At the hearing, the three-judge panel of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit questioned Players Association lawyer
Jeffrey L. Kessler and NFL lawyer
Paul Clement, with Circuit Judge
Denny Chin stating that "the evidence of ball tampering is compelling, if not overwhelming." On April 25, the decision to vacate Brady's four-game suspension was overturned by the U.S. Appeals Court. Circuit Judge
Barrington Daniels Parker Jr., joined by Circuit Judge Chin, wrote that they could not "second-guess" the arbitration but were merely determining it "met the minimum legal standards established by the
Labor Management Relations Act of 1947". Circuit Chief Judge
Robert Katzmann dissented, writing that the NFL's fines for using
stickum was "highly analogous" and that here "the Commissioner was doling out his own brand of industrial justice." On May 23, Brady appealed for his case to be reheard by the full U.S. 2nd Circuit Court. The 2nd Circuit Court denied Brady's request for an
en banc hearing on July 13. On July 15, Brady announced that he would give up his Deflategate fight and accept his suspension for the first four regular season games of the 2016 season.
2016: Fifth Super Bowl win After serving his four-game suspension, Brady made his 2016 season debut on October 9 on the road against the Browns; he completed 28-of-40 passes for 406 yards and three touchdowns in a 33–13 victory to earn AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Brady's outstanding numbers during his first four games following the suspension earned him the AFC Offensive Player of the Month award for October. In Week 11, Brady recorded four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 30–17 road win against the 49ers. Those four touchdown passes gave him a total of 444 career regular season touchdown passes with one team, breaking Brett Favre's record with the Green Bay Packers. The following week, Brady completed 30-of-50 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns in a 22–17 road victory against the Jets. The win was also the Patriots' 500th victory (including playoffs) in franchise history. During this victory, Brady also became the fifth quarterback to record 60,000 career regular season passing yards, joining Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, and Dan Marino. The following week, Brady and the Patriots defeated the
Los Angeles Rams by a score of 26–10, giving Brady his record-201st career victory, including playoff games. With a 16–3 victory over the Broncos, the Patriots clinched an eighth consecutive
AFC East title and a seventh consecutive first-round bye in the playoffs, both NFL records. On December 20, 2016, Brady was named to the
Pro Bowl for the eighth straight season and 12th time overall. Brady ended the regular season with 28 passing touchdowns and only two interceptions for the regular season, breaking the previous TD:INT ratio record of
Nick Foles's 27:2 figure set in 2013 with the Eagles. Brady was named to the
AP All-Pro Second Team. Brady was also ranked first on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 as the best player in the league, becoming the first player to be named as #1 twice since the listing began. Brady and the Patriots began their postseason run in the
Divisional Round, hosting the Texans, which held the league's No. 1 total defense. Brady completed 18-of-38 passes for 287 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions as the Patriots won 34–16, clinching a record sixth consecutive trip to the
AFC Championship Game. In the AFC Championship, the Patriots hosted the Steelers. Brady completed 32-of-42 passes for 384 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in the 36–17 victory. The win gave Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick their record seventh conference title as a quarterback–head coach tandem, and the Patriots an NFL record ninth Super Bowl appearance. Brady and the Patriots faced the NFC champion
Atlanta Falcons, who boasted the league's highest-scoring offense, in
Super Bowl LI. Brady threw for 43 completions on 62 attempts for 466 passing yards—all Super Bowl records at the time. Brady also threw for two touchdowns and an interception, which was returned for a touchdown by
Robert Alford in the second quarter. After trailing 28–3 midway through the third quarter, Brady and the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to tie the game at the end of regulation. This resulted in the first overtime in Super Bowl history. After winning the overtime coin toss, Brady led the Patriots down the field to score a touchdown and win the game by a score of 34–28, completing the largest comeback win in both team history and Super Bowl history. With the victory, Brady won his fifth Super Bowl, which set a record for most Super Bowl victories of any quarterback in history and tied defensive player
Charles Haley for the most Super Bowl victories for any player. In addition, Brady set another record by winning his fourth
Super Bowl MVP award for his clutch performance. On a personal note, this game was also special for Brady because it was the first game this season that his mother had attended in person, after having been previously diagnosed with cancer.
2017: Third MVP and loss in Super Bowl LII On May 12, 2017, Brady was announced as the cover athlete for
Madden NFL 18. In a
CBS interview on May 17,
Charlie Rose asked Brady's wife,
Gisele Bündchen, if she wanted Brady to retire, despite the fact that he was still playing at a high level. Bündchen mentioned that Brady suffered from a
concussion in 2016, saying, "I mean he has concussions pretty much every—I mean we don't talk about—but he does have concussions. I don't really think it's a healthy thing for anybody to go through." Following the Bündchen interview, the NFL released a statement: "We have reviewed all reports relating to Tom Brady from the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants and certified athletic trainer spotters who worked at Patriots' home and away 2016 season games as well as club injury reports that were sent to the league office. There are no records that indicate that Mr. Brady suffered a head injury or concussion, or exhibited or complained of concussion symptoms. Today we have been in contact with the NFLPA and will work together to gather more information from the club's medical staff and Mr. Brady". Brady's agent,
Don Yee, said that Brady was not diagnosed with a concussion during the 2016 season. The Patriots opened up their 2017 season with a 42–27 loss in the
NFL Kickoff game to the Chiefs. In Week 2, Brady's three touchdown passes and 447 passing yards in a 36–20 win over the
New Orleans Saints earned him his 28th AFC Offensive Player of the Week award, breaking the record previously held by Peyton Manning for the most AFC Offensive Player of the Week awards in a career. He won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week again in the following week for his 378-yard, five-touchdown game in a 36–33 win over the Texans. In Week 6, the Patriots defeated the Jets, 24–17. Brady obtained his 187th career win, setting the record for most regular season wins in NFL history. In Week 10, Brady won his third AFC Offensive Player of the Month for his three-touchdown game in a 41–16 win over the Broncos. For the month of November, Brady won AFC Offensive Player of the Month. On December 19, Brady was selected to the
Pro Bowl for the 13th time in his career. At age 40, Brady became the oldest quarterback ever to start all of his team's games in an NFL regular season. Brady finished the regular season with a league-leading 4,577 passing yards, making him the oldest player ever to lead the league in passing yards. He was named a first-team All-Pro by the
Associated Press for the third time in his career. Earning 40 of 50 votes, Brady was named the
NFL Most Valuable Player for the third time in his career. Brady and the Patriots began their postseason run by defeating the Titans, 35–14, in the
Divisional Round of the playoffs. With the win, the Patriots advanced to the
AFC Championship Game for the seventh straight year. Days after the divisional round, it was revealed that Brady had a minor cut on his right hand, which required stitches. Despite this injury, Brady managed to start the AFC Championship Game, where the Patriots hosted the Jaguars. Brady led a fourth quarter comeback to lead the Patriots to a 24–20 victory. The win gave Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick their eighth conference title as a quarterback–head coach tandem, and the Patriots a berth in
Super Bowl LII, their tenth Super Bowl appearance as a team, both of which extended NFL records. In Super Bowl LII, the Patriots faced the Eagles and their second-string quarterback
Nick Foles. Brady completed 28-of-48 attempts for three passing touchdowns, no interceptions, and a
Super Bowl record 505 yards–which set a new postseason game record for the most passing yards in NFL history. With roughly two minutes remaining in the game and the Eagles leading 38–33, Brady was strip-sacked by
Brandon Graham. The Eagles recovered the fumble and cemented their 41–33 win with a field goal, securing their first franchise Super Bowl victory in a game with the most combined total yardage in NFL history. This was the third time overall that Brady had lost in a Super Bowl, becoming the fourth starting quarterback in Super Bowl history to lose at least three Super Bowls joining
Jim Kelly,
Fran Tarkenton, and
John Elway.
2018–2019: Sixth Super Bowl win and final season in New England Brady started his 19th NFL season with 277 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in a 27–20 victory over the Texans in the season opener. In Week 5, in a 38–24 win against the Colts, Brady's 500th career touchdown pass went to
Josh Gordon, who became the 71st different player to catch a touchdown from Brady, breaking a record previously held by
Vinny Testaverde. In Week 6, in a 43–40 win against the Chiefs, Brady secured his 200th career regular season win, making him the only quarterback in NFL history to accomplish that feat. In Week 15, Brady reached 70,000 passing yards, becoming the fourth quarterback in NFL history to accomplish the feat. During Week 16 against the Bills, Brady was limited to 126 passing yards, but the Patriots won 24–12, clinching the AFC East pennant for the 10th consecutive season and 16th time in 18 years. In Week 17, Brady helped the Patriots clinch a first-round bye, with a 38–3 win against the Jets. Brady finished the season completing 375-of-570 passes, 4,355 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He earned his 14th career Pro Bowl nomination. He was ranked sixth by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2019. Following their first-round bye, the Patriots started their playoff run at home against the
Los Angeles Chargers in the
Divisional Round. The Patriots jumped out to a 35–7 halftime lead en route to a 41–28 win. With the win, the Patriots advanced to the
AFC Championship Game for an eighth consecutive year, this time to face the Chiefs at
Arrowhead Stadium. The Patriots went into halftime with a 14–0 lead. However, the Chiefs led by young quarterback Patrick Mahomes battled back in the second half and sent the game into overtime with a score of 31–31. The Patriots won the coin toss to start overtime and elected to receive the ball. Brady led the Patriots on a 75-yard drive that resulted in a game-winning two-yard rushing touchdown by
Rex Burkhead, to win the game 3731. With the victory, Brady earned a third consecutive and ninth overall Super Bowl appearance for his career. In
Super Bowl LIII, Brady completed 21-of-35 passes for 262 passing yards and an interception as the Patriots won 13–3 over the Rams in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history. This was the first time in his nine Super Bowl appearances in which Brady did not have a passing touchdown, though with the game tied 3–3 and less than eight minutes left he successfully connected with Rob Gronkowski down the sideline between three defenders to set up the go-ahead touchdown. With the victory, the Patriots became the second NFL team to win six Super Bowls, tying the Steelers for the most in NFL history. In addition, Brady became the oldest quarterback at41 years of age to win a Super Bowl, On August 4, 2019, Brady signed a two-year contract extension worth $70million through the 2021 season; the terms of the contract allowed Brady to become a free agent after the 2019 season. Against the 2019 Patriots salary cap, Brady was the highest-paid player on the team at $21.5million. Belichick was unwilling to offer a longer-term deal that Brady sought. Brady began the season by completing24 of36 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns in a 33–3 win over the Steelers. During a 33–7 victory against the
Washington Redskins in Week5, Brady surpassed Brett Favre for third place on the
all-time passing yards list. The following week in a 35–14 win against the Giants, Brady overtook Peyton Manning for second place on the all-time passing yards list, behind only Drew Brees. Although the Patriots' defense was performing well, the offense was notedly stagnant, and Brady told friends that he "felt Belichick had taken the offense for granted because of how good it had been for so long"; he said to
NBC that he was the "most miserable8–0 quarterback in the NFL." In Week17, Brady's final regular-season game as a Patriot, he threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw an interception that was returned by former Patriots teammate
Eric Rowe for a touchdown in a 27–24 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Although the Patriots finished the regular season with a 12–4 record and won the AFC East for the 11th consecutive year, this loss, combined with a win by the Chiefs, denied New England a first-round bye for the first time since
2009. Personally, however, Brady passed Peyton Manning for the second-most touchdown passes in NFL history, with 541. , his final game with the Patriots The Patriots began their postseason run in the
Wild Card Round, where they faced the Titans. With his team trailing 14–13 and pinned back on its 1-yard line with15 seconds left in the game, Brady's final pass attempt of the gameand his last as a Patriotwas intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Titans cornerback and former teammate
Logan Ryan, which effectively sealed the 20–13 win for Tennessee. During the NFL's celebration of their 100th season, Brady was named to the
NFL 100 All-Time Team. He was ranked 14th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2020. On March 17, 2020, the day before his contract with the Patriots expired, Brady announced that he would not re-sign with the team for the 2020 season, ending his 20-year tenure in New England. After Brady signed with Tampa Bay, billboards thanking Brady for his services were posted alongside the
Massachusetts Turnpike and eleven other locations around New England.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020 season: Seventh Super Bowl win in the 2020 playoffs Brady signed with the 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 deal included a no-trade and a no-
franchise tag clause. Although his career number of 12 was assigned to
Chris Godwin, Godwin offered it to Brady as a sign of respect and switched his number to 14. In April 2020, Brady was reunited with former Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski when the
tight end came out of retirement and was traded to the Buccaneers. Head coach
Bruce Arians stated that it was Brady who was adamant for the team to trade for Gronkowski. Making his Buccaneers debut in New Orleans against the Saints on September 13, Brady completed 23-of-36 passes for 239 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, and additionally scored a rushing touchdown as the Saints defeated the Buccaneers 34–23. Brady bounced back with three solid performances as the Buccaneers won their next three games, including a Week 4 performance against the Chargers in which he completed 30 of 46 passes for 369 yards, five touchdowns, and an interception. Brady's five touchdowns in the Buccaneers' 38–31 win against the Chargers marked the seventh time in his career he had five touchdowns in a game and, at age 43, made him the oldest quarterback to have a five-touchdown game. Brady's Week 4 performance earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award for the first time in his career. For the month of October, Brady won NFC Offensive Player of the Month. In Week 9 against New Orleans, Brady threw for 209 yards and three interceptions during the 38–3 loss. This was the most lopsided loss of Brady's career, as well as the first time in his 20-year career that he had been swept by a divisional opponent. Brady later said that playing
behind closed doors from the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the NFL made it easier for him to execute his new team's unfamiliar
football playbook. In Week 16 against the Lions, Brady completed 22-of-27 attempts with 348 yards, four touchdowns, and a
perfect passer rating of 158.3 in the first half before being rested in the second half of the 47–7 victory. The win ended a 13-year playoff drought for the Buccaneers. Overall, he finished the 2020 season with 4,633 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Due to the Saints winning the division, the Buccaneers settled for a
wild card spot, marking a career-first for Brady. In the
Divisional Round against the Saints, Brady threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown in the 30–20 win. As Brady and Saints quarterback Drew Brees were both over 40 years old and were first and second in career touchdown passes and career passing yards, the game was hyped as the potential final matchup between the two stars (which it indeed turned out to be, as Brees retired following the season). Brady extended his record of Conference Championship game appearances to 14. In the
NFC Championship, Brady threw for 280 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in a 31–26 win over
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at
Lambeau Field. It was another highly anticipated matchup since Brady and Rodgers were two of the most statistically efficient quarterbacks, and this was their first postseason matchup. The win gave Brady his record-extending tenth Super Bowl appearance, making Brady the fourth quarterback to lead two different teams to the Super Bowl, joining
Craig Morton,
Kurt Warner, and Peyton Manning, and the second after Morton to reach the Super Bowl from both conferences. The Buccaneers became the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its home stadium.
Super Bowl LV was the first title game where both starting quarterbacks, Brady and his opposing counterpart Patrick Mahomes, have won the
AP NFL MVP and
Super Bowl MVP awards; as Brady is Mahomes' senior by 18 years, some billed the matchup as comparable to
Michael Jordan versus
LeBron James. Brady threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns in Tampa Bay's 31–9 win over the Chiefs. He had led the Buccaneers to become only the seventh Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl and only the fifth to do so by winning three road games. Brady was awarded Super Bowl MVP for the game. His two touchdown passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski set a record for most postseason touchdown passes for a passer-receiver duo, with 14, breaking the mark previously held by Joe Montana and
Jerry Rice. Brady extended his record for most Super Bowl wins by a player with his seventh and extended his record for Super Bowl MVP awards, with five. Brady became the second quarterback, joining Peyton Manning, to lead two different teams to Super Bowl wins, but the first to win Super Bowl MVP with two different teams. He was the first quarterback to win the Super Bowl with teams from different conferences. Brady became the player with the most
championships in NFL history and tied
Otto Graham for the most league championships in professional football history by a player at seven. With the win, Brady became the oldest quarterback in Super Bowl history to start, play, win, and receive the MVP award.
2021 season On February 11, 2021, it was revealed that Brady had knee discomfort through most of the 2020 season and would require a minor arthroscopy for a routine cleanup. Brady signed a one-year contract extension through the 2022 season with the Buccaneers on March 12, 2021. On July 15, it was revealed that Brady had a torn MCL in the knee that had to undergo surgery, an injury that had plagued him for the entire 2020 season. The NFL declined to comment on the Buccaneers' failure to disclose this injury. In the
NFL Kickoff game against the Cowboys, Brady threw for 379 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions leading the Buccaneers to a 31–29 win. Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski became the second passer-receiver duo to record 100 touchdown passes, joining Peyton Manning and
Marvin Harrison. In Week 3, against the Rams, Brady threw for 432 yards, and had two touchdowns, and joined Drew Brees as the only players in NFL history to record 80,000 passing yards during the 34–24 loss. In
his return to
New England in Week 4 against Belichick and rookie quarterback
Mac Jones, Brady surpassed Brees, who coincidentally was on the sidelines as an analyst for
NBC Sunday Night Football, for the most passing yards in
National Football League history. He broke the record on a 28-yard completion to
Mike Evans in the first quarter. With the victory over his former team, Brady became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to record a win against all 32 current teams in the league, joining Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees. In addition, he became the sixth quarterback to have a victory against every incumbent NFL franchise after
Fran Tarkenton and Joe Montana, as the league only had 28 teams during the latter two's respective tenures. In Week 5, Brady threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns in a 45–17 win over the Dolphins, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In Week 7, Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to record 600 touchdown passes, with a nine-yard pass to Evans in a win against the
Chicago Bears. In Week 14, Brady surpassed Brees for most all-time pass completions list in NFL history and became the first quarterback to record 700 touchdown passes in regular season and postseason combined with a game-winning 58-yard pass to
Breshad Perriman against the Bills. Brady finished the 2021 season with an NFL record 485 pass completions for a career-high 5,316 passing yards, 43 passing touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Brady became the oldest player in NFL history to pass for at least 5,000 yards and his passing yards total marked the third-most for a single season in NFL history. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the 15th time. In the
Wild Card Round, the Buccaneers faced off against the Eagles, as a rematch of their Week 6 regular season game. Brady completed 29 of 37 passes for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns as they won 31–15. Brady and the Buccaneers advanced to the
Divisional Round to face off against the Rams, to whom they previously lost in the regular season. Brady and the Buccaneers fell behind 27–3 in the third quarter, until Brady was able to lead the team to 24 unanswered points and a tie game; however, the Rams scored a field goal in the closing seconds to defeat the Buccaneers 30–27. Brady finished the game with 329 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The Rams later went on to win
Super Bowl LVI.
Initial retirement Brady announced his retirement on February 1, 2022, after 22 seasons. In Brady's first two years with Tampa, the Buccaneers posted a regular season record of 24–9, which were the two most successful back-to-back seasons in
franchise history. Their 13–4 regular season record in 2021 was the best result in franchise history, eclipsing the 12–4 record of the
2002 Super Bowl winning team. Prior to Brady's arrival, the franchise had an all-time playoff record of 6–9; at the time of Brady's retirement, the all-time playoff record for Tampa Bay stood at 11–10. He was ranked first by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2022, his fourth time being ranked first.
2022 season On March 13, 2022, just 40 days after initially announcing his retirement, Brady announced he would return to the Buccaneers for the
2022 season. In the Buccaneers' season-opening game against the Cowboys, Brady became the oldest quarterback to start a game in NFL history. In Week 3 against the Packers, Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 85,000 career passing yards. Brady and the Buccaneers lost in Weeks 6, 7, and 8, dropping the team to 3–5. It was the first three-game losing streak for Brady since his 2002 season with the Patriots. In Week 8 against the Ravens, Brady was sacked by
Justin Houston just before halftime. In turn, Brady became the most sacked quarterback in NFL history with 555 sacks taken, passing
Ben Roethlisberger. In Week 9 against the Rams, Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 100,000 passing yards in his career (combined regular season and postseason). With nine seconds left in regulation, Brady completed a touchdown pass to rookie tight end
Cade Otton to win 16–13. The game-winning drive was the 55th of Brady's career, passing Peyton Manning for the most all-time. The following week, Brady led the Buccaneers to a 21–16 victory over the Seahawks in a game played in Germany, making Brady the first quarterback to win NFL games in three different countries outside the U.S. (having won games played in England and Mexico while he was with New England). On November 27, Brady saw a streak end. He was 218–0 when his team was leading by at least seven points in the final two minutes of regulation. Facing the Browns, the Buccaneers led by seven until the final thirty seconds when the Browns tied the game on a touchdown in an eventual overtime win by Cleveland. In a Week 13 matchup against the Saints, Brady threw a touchdown pass to
Rachaad White with three seconds remaining to complete a 13-point comeback. This was the second time in Brady's career that he had surmounted a fourth quarter deficit of 13-plus points, the first being versus the Falcons in
Super Bowl LI when the Patriots came back after being down 28–3 to win in overtime. In Week 17, against the Panthers, he passed for 432 yards and three touchdowns in the 30–24 victory. In Week 18 against the Falcons, Brady broke his own NFL record for completions in a season, as well as
Matthew Stafford's 2012 record for pass attempts in a season. However, the Buccaneers lost 30–17, giving Brady his first career losing season as the starter. 2022 marked the first season in which Brady lost eight or more games. Brady was pulled in the second quarter to prevent injury, as the Buccaneers had clinched their playoff position the previous week by winning the NFC South. Against the Dallas Cowboys in the
Wild Card Round, Brady passed for 351 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the 31–14 loss. In the loss, Brady set postseason single-game franchise records for pass attempts (66) and pass completions (35). The loss to the Cowboys marked the first time since
2013 that Brady lost in the playoffs in consecutive seasons. He filed his retirement papers with the NFL and NFLPA nine days later. During a halftime ceremony on September 10, 2023, the Patriots' first game of the
season, Robert Kraft announced he would waive the traditional four-year post-retirement waiting period required for Brady's candidacy to the
Patriots Hall of Fame, as well as directly inducting him without the customary ballot. His induction took place on June 12, 2024 (the date chosen in reference for the number of championships Brady won in New England, as June is the sixth month of the year, and with his jersey number representing the day), in the first Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony to take place within
Gillette Stadium. Brady was the first person in Gillette Stadium history to become a "Keeper of the Light", ringing the bell in the newly redesigned lighthouse. In the presence of his family, former teammates, coaches, friends, as well as a crowd of over 60,000 fans at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots celebrated Brady's career with the franchise in a dedicated three-hour event. After speaker panels and video tributes, he was inducted as the 35th member of the Patriots Hall of Fame. Brady delivered a heartfelt speech to the crowd, declaring: "All our lives take us on different journeys, they take us to different places, they bring different people into our lives, but one thing I am sure of — and that will never change — is that I am a Patriot for life." In an
Instagram post in December 2023, reflecting on the year, Brady stated that he heavily considered un-retiring a second time in May 2023 to play the 2023 season but was "forced" to decide against it when his friends hosted a surprise retirement party for him. On June 12, 2024, prior to the induction ceremony, Governor
Maura Healey declared June 12 officially "Tom Brady Day" in
Massachusetts. Kraft announced that the franchise would formally retire Brady's number 12 jersey and revealed that a statue of Brady was being constructed to be placed at the
Patriots Hall of Fame building. The
statue of Tom Brady, displayed in front of Gillette Stadium, was unveiled in a public ceremony on August 8, 2025. In March 2026, a 49-year-old Brady revealed that he had inquired about coming out of retirement to once again play in the NFL, but the league balked at the idea due to his status as part-owner of the
Las Vegas Raiders and the issues it would cause with the salary cap. Brady then confirmed that he was still happily retired. ==Broadcasting career==