Tom Brady wears an Ohio State shirt after losing bet on Michigan game to former Buckeye Nate Ebner

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The greatest quarterback in NFL history wore scarlet and gray Thursday.

Tom Brady was a Buckeye for a day.

According to the social media accounts of reporters in the New England Patriots locker room, the former Michigan quarterback was forced to wear Buckeye gear after losing a bet to safety and special teamer Nate Ebner, his Patriots teammate who played at Ohio State in 2010 and 2011.

The Buckeyes beat Michigan 42-13 on Saturday. Ebner told WEEI that he had to provide Brady with the shirt.

"I don't think he had any on him," Ebner said.

Brady wearing an Ohio State shirt. Nate Ebner looks happy.

— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) December 3, 2015

Ebner asked about the fact Brady was wearing Ohio State gear: "Just a friendly bet," he smiled.

— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) December 3, 2015

Tom Brady cruises through the Patriots locker room wearing an Ohio State t-shirt. His Wolverines lost to Nate Ebner's Buckeyes last weekend.

— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) December 3, 2015

LaFell asked if he feels bad for Brady having to wear some OSU gear. Not at all. "He never should've made that bet."

— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) December 3, 2015

Tom Brady walks through locker room in an Ohio State shirt. Lost a bet. "It's bad," he says, hustling quickly into equipment area.

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) December 3, 2015

This isn't the first time Brady had to deal with this. He lost a bet to long-time Patriots teammate Mike Vrabel in 2012, when Vrabel was coaching with the Buckeyes, that had Brady wearing a Vrabel Ohio State jersey at practice.

Michigan is 3-13 vs. Ohio State during Brady's 16-year NFL career.

Byron Maxwell: Sam Bradford is NFL's best QB, not Tom Brady

When people talk about who's been the best quarterback in the NFL this season, the conversation usually starts with someone like Tom Brady, unless of course you're having that conversation with Byron Maxwell, in which case, the conversation will likely go completely off the rails.

During a session with the media this week, Maxwell was asked if he thought Tom Brady was the best quarterback in the NFL.

Apparently, Maxwell hasn't watched much football this year, or in any year. 

On one hand, the answer's not completely crazy because no one wants to offend their teammate. On the other hand though, Bradford probably wouldn't be offended if one of his teammates said that a two-time NFL MVP was better than him. As a matter of fact, if Bradford was asked who was better, I'm guessing he wouldn't say Bradford.

Despite Maxwell's belief that Bradford's better, the Eagles won't be underestimating Brady on Sunday. Linebacker Connor Barwin says that Philadelphia is going to have to be almost perfect to stop Brady and the Patriots offense.

"You gotta be close to perfect. You gotta be 11 guys doing exactly your job," Barwin said,via CSNPhilly.com. "You gotta hold your defenses."

Eagles safety Walter Thurmond is concerned about Brady exploiting bad matchups.

"The hardest part about facing Tom Brady is being able to have enough guys that can cover on his matchups," Thurmond said. "He's a guy who relies on his matchups, especially when playing man coverage and whatever is the favorable matchup to where he thinks his guy is going to win."

Anyway, if Maxwell doesn't think Brady is the best, he might after Sunday. The Patriots quarterback has a favorable matchup going up against an Eagles defense that's given up 45 points in two consecutive games.

The Eagles are on a three-game losing streak, which they'll need to end soon if they're going to win the Super Bowl, something that Maxwell guaranteed they would do back in May.

Who's the better quarterback: Sam Bradford or Tom Brady? (USATSI)

Tom Brady's jersey tops NFL sales through first two weeks of season

Despite an offseason filled with Deflategate controversy, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady continues to be the best-selling player in the league.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Brady's No. 12 sits at the top of the list of best-selling jerseys on the league's official website.

Brady also was the best-selling player among all licensed merchandise from March 1 to May 31, according to a list revealed by the NFL Players Association.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said sales of Brady merchandise at the Patriots Pro Shop this offseason were "uncharacteristically high."

That Brady is No. 1 is impressive given that the team's jersey hasn't changed since Brady entered the league. The Patriots' last main jersey change came in 2000, other than the switch of manufacturers from Reebok to Nike and a font change on the logo below the neck this year.

And it's not just jerseys.

On Sept. 10, Under Armour started selling the black shirt worn by Brady in its new commercial. The shirt has the number 199 in black, which is the number of the overall pick that Brady was selected with in the 2000 NFL draft. The shirt sold out in hours and the company, which Brady endorses, is now taking preorders for the next batch.

Rounding out the top five in NFL jersey sales for the first two weeks of the regular season on NFLShop.com are Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant,New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and San Francisco 49ers running back and kick returner Jarryd Hayne, with 70 percent of sales coming from Australia, where Hayne played rugby.

The Patriots have three players (Julian Edelman is No. 16) in the top 25, as do the Seattle Seahawks (Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, 12th Fan) and the San Francisco 49ers (Hayne, Colin Kaepernick and NaVorro Bowman).

Dexter Manley would take Joe Theismann over Tom Brady

At some point in his career, Dexter Manley realized that he could get more laughs and feedback out of radio listeners by screaming something outrageous than by actually offering a measured opinion. This can be fun for everyone involved — sure, I laughed the time he threatened to break my genitalia, or when he said he would skip watching preseason football in favor of having sex. But he’s not actually saying these things for anything but the shock value.

Anyhow, with NFL Network set to debut a film about Manley’s life, he’s doing media appearances, which will lead to headlines featuring Manley saying outrageous things. Here’s one.

The former Redskins great started his interview with the Junkies on 106.7 The Fan Thursday morning with a fusillade of insults directed at Tom Brady, one of which had to be dumped by producers. Manley, you’ll recall, lost his gig with WTOP a few years ago after using a homophobic slur to describe Troy Aikman, for which he later apologized.

“First of all let me tell you something, let me ask you guys a question: who would you take, Joe Theismann or Tom Brady?” Manley began. “I’m taking Joe T. I’ve got a guy [at work], he loves Tom Brady, and I think Tom Brady, I ain’t gonna go there, but Tom Brady can’t even pack Joe Theismann’s jock. This [co-worker], that’s all we debate all day is about Joe Theismann or Tom Brady. I think Tom Brady can’t pick up a first down. He has no athletic skills, he’s surrounded by good people, but the guy is in the toilet, in my opinion. In my opinion he’s in the toilet.

“I’ll take Joe Theismann, I’ll take [Matt Ryan], anything over Tom Brady,” Manley went on. “I’ll take Joe Theismann first, I’ll take Matty Ice second, and I might take Doug Williams third, but I’m not gonna take Tom Brady to lead my team nowhere….Tom Brady is garbage. He can’t pick up a first down. He has no athletic skill. He’s surrounded by people, but Tom Brady is garbage.Garbage!!!!”

Matt Ryan? I mean, it doesn’t matter what he’s saying. He might as well have named Brandon Weeden, or John Beck. Regardless, he was asked why he’s so enthusiastic about Ryan.

“Matty Ice is a pure passer,” Manley said. “He can pick up a first down. I don’t know if he’s an athlete, he’s from Boston somewhere, but I’ll tell you what, he’s much better than Tom Brady.”

Manley went on to say many other outrageous things, some of which might appear later in this space. Who knows. Whatever.

Bill Belichick on Tom Brady returning to Patriots: 'He never left'

We here at CBS Sports are very pleased to bring to you on this holiday Friday "Great Moments in Bill Belichick Press Conference History," Vol. 345.

Just another in the long line of deadpan, kind-of-jerkish-but-mostly-hysterical moments involving the Patriots coach and the media, this began when someone decided to ask Bill if he was pumped about Tom Brady returning to the team after he won the Deflategate case.

The most important thing here? Belichick is 100 percent accurate. Brady never left. He's been practicing and playing in the preseason and only theoretically suspended for the first four games of 2015.

Never to be deterred, there were follow-ups.

Q: What are your thoughts on him being available to play the first four games of the season?

BB: We'll do the best that we can to have the best plan, the best preparation for Pittsburgh, same as we always do.

Oh hey and Bill while we're here. How do you feel about Deflategate in general?

Q: As far as you're concerned, is everything from the AFC Championship Game and deflated footballs and all that, is that all in the rearview mirror?

BB: We're focused on Pittsburgh.

Right on. Ever worried about Brady getting suspended?

Q: Was the coaching staff prepared to have Tom Brady for Week 1 all along?

BB: Right now, we're going to take the players that are available and try to figure out the best way to prepare our team for the Steelers Thursdaynight. That's all we're doing.

The best part about all this is it was on a conference call. So there's not even any awkward stare-down moments, but there is that hilarious stretch of weird silence that might be more entertaining.

Here's hoping someone at NFL Films was hanging out filming and we'll see it in the next Belichick "A Football Life" episode.

Bill Belichick is out there deadpanning again. (Getty Images)

6 photos of Tom Brady exiting the courtroom after his suspension was overturned, ranked by smugness

1. "Try not to laugh. Try not to laugh in all their faces, Tom."

2. "I wonder what's going through Goodell's head right now?"

3. "When I get home, I'm gonna put all my rings in my mouth and just gargle them for a few minutes."

4. "Oh wow look at that reflection in the car window. I'm still so damn handsome. Wow."

5. "And this was just about the deflated balls. They never even found out about the other stuff. Nerds."

6. "Oh man, I forgot all these regular-ass people were standing all around me."

Postscript: Please compare the above to a scene of Tom Brady *entering* the courtroom.

Just makes the post-courtroom Tom look even smugger.

Ex-NFLers slam Tom Brady over ex-Affleck nanny photos

Christine Ouzounian wearing Tom Brady’s Super Bowl rings

Scandal hit Ben Affleck again this week when photos surfaced of his former nanny, 28-year-old Christine Ouzounian, living the high life with him aboard a private jet.

The bigger scandal? That she was sporting four Super Bowl rings belonging to fellow passenger Tom Brady.

Brady’s fellow football players balked at the notion of a pigskin king parading around with all his jewels.

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Michael StrahanPhoto: Getty Images

“I saw the picture and was like, ‘What the heck is he doing carrying around all his rings?’ ” former Giant Michael Strahan told The Post’s Dana Schuster.

Retired Giant Shaun O’Hara has one 2008 Super Bowl ring and says most active players don’t wear their rings, “because they don’t want to dwell on the past.

“By no means do I wear the ring for a random night out,” he told The Post’s Tashara Jones.

Though there’s no word of what Brady’s wife Gisele Bündchen thinks, “I know my wife would not want the nanny wearing my Super Bowl rings,” said Damien Woody, who played for the New England Patriots and has two Super Bowl rings. “I have my rings locked up.”

Modal Trigger

Ben Affleck and Tom Brady

Peyton Manning on leaked Tom Brady email: ‘No harm, no foul’

Amid the ongoing case against Tom Brady, who was suspended by the league for the first four games of the season for his involvement in the Patriots’ deflated footballs in the AFC Championship game against the Colts, details have emerged about the league’s handling of the case and of Brady’s role in the investigation.

Emails have also leaked, including private ones Brady, 38, sent to a friend, that included so-called jabs at Manning, 39. In the emails, Brady wrote that “I’ve got another 7 or 8 years. He has 2. That’s the final chapter. Game on.”

“Everybody’s been speculating on that for a long time,” Manning said after practice Wednesday. “So, I guess maybe he’s joining the list of everybody trying to predict.”

The insult many perceived it to be was grossly overblown though, according to Manning. The Broncos’ quarterback said he received an apology text from Brady after the emails were published, which Manning said was “unnecessary.”

“The fact that his emails got revealed, that didn’t make a lot of sense to me,” Manning said. “No harm, no foul. I didn’t think a lot of it. Somebody said I was roasted. I’ve been roasted before. That is NOT a roast. I haven’t been on a Comedy Central roast, but there have been a couple of those private dinners and banquets where I didn’t know it would turn into a roast of me, but it did. I can promise you, that email was amateur night compared to some of the things people really said about me.”

Courtroom artist apologizes for botched Tom Brady sketch

A veteran courtroom sketch artist apologized Wednesday for an unrecognizable rendering of football star Tom Brady that went viral as critics savaged the poorly drawn portrait.

“I want to apologize to Tom Brady for not making him as handsome as he really is,” Jane Rosenberg said. “It’s hard to capture that in a short amount of time.”

“I guess I’m not good enough to satisfy these NFL fans,” she added.

Twitter users posted side-by-side pictures comparing Rosenberg’s version of Brady to the skeletal host of the 1990’s HBO series “Tales from the Crypt” and Gollum from “Lord of the Rings.”

“Courtroom sketch artist apparently thinks Tom Brady is the skinny Hunchback of Notre Dame. Might need a new job,” the pop band OneRepublic tweeted.

“Did Jane Rosenberg draw with her eyes closed? Anyone?” wrote Twitter user @nickgrodo.

Others slapped Brady’s mangled mug onto everything from a Vincent Van Gogh self-portrait and Edvard Munch’s iconic “The Scream” to the Freddie Kreuger character from “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and the alien from “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

“We should do a Kickstarter to pay court artist Jane Rosenberg to draw other NFL stars. Peyton Manning would be epic,” tweeted Bleacher Report writer Dan Levy.

Brady was in Manhattan federal court Wednesday for a hearing and settlement talks in his suit challenging the NFL’s decision to suspend him for four games over the “Deflategate” scandal.

Rosenberg’s Web site says she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine art and continued her training at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Art.

She specializes in outdoor oil paintings, but has also worked as courtroom sketch artist for decades, with past work including drawings of the late mob boss John Gotti, domestic diva Martha

Stewart and “blind sheikh” terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman.

“I’m working very quickly. Obviously I have a lot of pressure on me, and it’s time pressure,” she told Vice.

“It’s lucky if I have a few minutes. So I’m just trying to grab onto something, just as quick as I can.”

“Now, this Tom Brady thing, I did this whole wide shot with a million people in it. And everybody’s focusing on that one little fraction of the whole picture, of Tom Brady,” she added.

“But it’s really a big wide composition. There’s a lot of people and the whole courtroom in it.”

“I’m probably going to go home and feel terrible,” she told ABC News.

Court Artist Apologises Over Tom Brady Sketch

Jane Rosenberg says sorry for not making the quarterback "pretty enough" after the odd-looking court drawing went viral.

A courtroom sketch artist has apologised after her drawing of Tom Brady at a "Deflategate" civil hearing in Manhattan went viral because it looked so bad.

Jane Rosenberg's drawing of the New England Patriots quarterback was picked up online with people circulating internet memes of his badly drawn face.

Among some of them were comparisons to the character Lurch in The Addams Family and to the figure in Edvard Munch's painting The Scream.

Tom Brady is appealing against a four-game ban over "deflategate"

Ms Rosenberg said she was unaware of the furore around her sketch until after she had left the court.

She told CBS News: "When I came out I'd just done my sketches, I didn't know I broke the internet til after I fed my sketches in.

"Suddenly I'm getting a million phone calls, emails, texts, people coming up to me and trying to interview me.

The image of Brady in Edvard Munch's The Scream

"I'm very self-critical of my own artwork, I feel really bad when I do a bad sketch and I don't like being criticised.

"I apologise for not making him look pretty enough to the world and all those fans of Tom Brady, he's a very good looking guy.

"But I did a wide shot with a lot of people in it, and it was a big composition and Tom Brady was a tiny little head in that composition."

The quarterback also featured as ET

Ms Rosenberg added: "I did the best I can, I'm under tremendous deadline pressure, I work very fast, I do it right then and there."

Tom Brady, 38, is appealing against a four-game suspension for his role in the deflation of footballs used in the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts in January.

Tom Brady

For other people named Tom Brady, see Tom Brady (disambiguation).

Tom Brady

Brady in December 2011
No. 12 New England Patriots
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth:	August 3, 1977 (age 38)
Place of birth:	San Mateo, California
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:	San Mateo (CA) Junípero Serra
College:	Michigan
NFL draft:	2000 / Round: 6 / Pick: 199
Career history
New England Patriots (2000–present)
Roster status:	Suspended
Career highlights and awards
NFL 4× Super Bowl Champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII,XXXIX, XLIX) 3× Super Bowl MVP (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XLIX) 2× NFL MVP (2007, 2010) 10× Pro Bowl (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009,2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014) 2× First Team All-Pro (2007, 2010) Second Team All-Pro (2005) 6× AFC Champion (2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014) 3× NFL passing touchdowns leader (2002, 2007, 2010) 2× NFL passing yards leader (2005, 2007) Ranked #3 in the Top 100 Players of 2015 Ranked #3 in the Top 100 Players of 2014 Ranked #4 in the Top 100 Players of 2013 Ranked #4 in the Top 100 Players of 2012 Ranked #1 in the Top 100 Players of 2011 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (2005) Sporting News Sportsman of the Year (2004, 2007) AP Male Athlete of the Year (2007) 2× NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2007, 2010) 3× AFC Offensive Player of the Year (2007, 2010, 2011) AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2009) PFWA NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2009) Bert Bell Award (2007) New England Patriots all-time leader (passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass completions, pass attempts, career wins) NFL 2000s All-Decade Team College 2× Big Ten Champion Rose Bowl (1998) National Champion (1997) Citrus Bowl (1999) Orange Bowl (2000)
Career NFL statistics as of 2014
Pass attempts:	7,168
Pass completions:	4,551
Percentage:	63.5
TD–INT:	392–143
Passing yards:	53,258
Passer rating:	95.9
Stats at NFL.com

Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. (born August 3, 1977), nicknamed Tom Terrific,^[1][2][3] is an American footballquarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).

After playing college football for the University of Michigan, Tom Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the2000 NFL draft. In Brady's 13 full seasons as a starter (he missed nearly all of 2008 with a torn ACL),^[4][5] the Patriots have earned six trips to the Super Bowl, winning four. Brady has won three Super Bowl MVP awards, two league MVP awards (2007, 2010), has been selected to ten Pro Bowls, and has led the Patriots to more division titles than any other quarterback in NFL history, with twelve. Brady is fifth on the all-time list for career passing yards and fifth for career touchdown passes. His career postseason record is 21–8; his playoff win total is the most in NFL history. He helped set the record for the longest consecutive win streak in NFL history with 21 straight wins over two seasons (2003–2004). He also set the record for most consecutive playoff wins with 10, and in 2007 led the Patriots to the first undefeated regular seasonsince the institution of the 16-game schedule. He has thrown for more passing yards and touchdowns than any quarterback in NFL postseason history, and has the sixth highest career passer rating of all time (95.9) among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career passing attempts.

Tom Brady is considered among the greatest quarterbacks of all time.^[6] He 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. Brady is the only quarterback to lead his team to six Super Bowls, and holds the record for the most total Super Bowl touchdown passes.^[7]He was named the NFL MVP in 2007 and 2010 (becoming the first player since 1986 to be unanimously chosen as MVP) as well as the 2007 Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, the first NFL player to be so honored since 1990. After the 2010 season, Brady was ranked as the top player in the NFL Top 100, a poll of league players. He also became the first quarterback to throw for 50 or more touchdowns in a season. In 2010, he set the NFL record for consecutive passes without an interception (358),^[8] and broke his own record for the highest season touchdown to interception ratio, among players who have started a full season, at 9:1.

Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick have combined to form the most successful quarterback-coach tandem in NFL history, winning 160 regular season games and 21 postseason games together, as well as appearing in six Super Bowls together, all NFL records.^[9]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Early years
• 2 College career
• 3 Professional career
  • 3.1 New England Patriots (2000–present)
    • 3.1.1 2000 season
    • 3.1.2 2001 season
      • 3.1.2.1 2001 postseason
    • 3.1.3 2002 season
    • 3.1.4 2003 season
      • 3.1.4.1 2003 postseason
    • 3.1.5 2004 season
      • 3.1.5.1 2004 postseason
    • 3.1.6 2005 season
      • 3.1.6.1 2005 postseason
    • 3.1.7 2006 season
      • 3.1.7.1 2006 postseason
    • 3.1.8 2007 season
      • 3.1.8.1 2007 postseason
    • 3.1.9 2008 season
    • 3.1.10 2009 season
      • 3.1.10.1 2009 postseason
    • 3.1.11 2010 season
      • 3.1.11.1 2010 postseason
    • 3.1.12 2011 season
      • 3.1.12.1 2011 postseason
    • 3.1.13 2012 season
      • 3.1.13.1 2012 postseason
    • 3.1.14 2013 season
      • 3.1.14.1 2013 postseason
    • 3.1.15 2014 season
      • 3.1.15.1 2014 postseason
      • 3.1.15.2 Deflategate
• 4 Professional statistics
  • 4.1 Regular season
  • 4.2 Playoffs
  • 4.3 Super Bowl
• 5 NFL records
  • 5.1 Playoffs (career)
  • 5.2 Super Bowl (career)
• 6 Personal life
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 Further reading
• 10 External links

Early years

Tom Brady was born in San Mateo, California, the only son and fourth child of Galynn Patricia (née Johnson) and Thomas Brady, Sr.^[10] He has three older sisters.^[11] He was raised Catholic, and is of Irish descent on his father's side and of Polish, Norwegian, and Swedish descent on his mother's side.^{[12][13][14][15][16]} Brady regularly attended 49ers games atCandlestick Park in the 1980s, where he became a fan of quarterback Joe Montana; since then, Brady has mentioned Montana as one of his inspirations and an idol.^[17] One of the games Brady attended was the 1981 NFC Championship against the Dallas Cowboys, in which Montana threw The Catch to Dwight Clark, with Brady only being four-years-old at the time.^[18] Brady attended football camp at the College of San Mateo as a kid, where he learned to throw the football from camp counselor, and American football quarterback, Tony Graziani.^[19] Brady grew up as a Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics fan.^[20]

Brady attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, graduating in 1995 at St. Mary's Cathedral.^[21] While at Serra, Brady played football, basketball, and baseball. He played against Bellarmine College Preparatory rival Pat Burrell in both football and baseball. Brady was drafted as a catcher in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draftby the Montreal Expos.^[22]

During the summer of 1998 and 1999, Brady was an intern at Merrill Lynch.^[23]

In 2004, Brady was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.^{[citation needed]} When Brady revisited two weeks after Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, it was announced by school administration that the school had named the football stadium Brady Family Stadium.^[24]

College career

Brady played college football for, and graduated from, the University of Michigan.^[25][26] He was a backup quarterback for 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, Brady was seventh on the depth chart and had an intense struggle to get some playing time. At one point, Brady hired a sports psychologist to help him cope with frustration and anxiety and even considered transferring to California.^[27][28] He worked closely with assistant athletic director Greg Harden, who met with Brady every week to build his confidence and maximize his performance on the field.^[29] Brady told 60 Minutes in 2014: ""He will always be somebody I rely on for sound advice and mentorship. He has helped me with my own personal struggles in both athletics and in life. Greg really pushed me in a direction that I wasn't sure I could go." ^[30] Brady battled for the starting job with Drew Henson,^[26] 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).^[31] 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 he set a school record for completions in a 31-16 loss against Ohio State in 1998, a season in which Michigan shared the Big Ten Conference title. Brady capped that season with a win over Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl.^[32] In the 1999 season, Brady had to once again hold off Henson for the starting job. The two platooned over the season's first seven games, with Brady playing the first quarter, Henson the second and Carr then deciding upon a quarterback for the second half. The 1999 Michigan Wolverines started off 5-0, including a 26-22 win over Notre Dame and a road win against eventual powerhouse Wisconsin. Against Michigan State, Brady was not chosen to play the second half but was reinserted into the game with Michigan down 17; he nearly led Michigan all the way back before losing 34-31. After a 300-yard passing game the following week, Carr went exclusively with Brady for the remainder of the season. Brady went on to lead Michigan to multiple 4th-quarter comebacks, including a remarkable 31-27 win against Penn State, and leading them out of a close game against Indiana, 34-31, heading into the regular season's final game, winners of three straight, earning him the moniker of "Comeback Kid". Brady concluded the regular season against Michigan's rival, Ohio State, in a dramatic game, with a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line. With five minutes left, tied 17-17, Brady led Michigan to the winning score. He then led Michigan to an overtime win in the Orange Bowl over Alabama, throwing for 369 yards, four touchdowns, leading the team back from a pair of 14-point deficits in regulation (14-0 in the first half, and 28-14 in the second). He threw the game-winning score on a bootleg to tight end Shawn Thompson. Michigan then won when Alabama missed an extra point following its own touchdown.

Professional career

New England Patriots (2000–present)

2000 season

Brady was selected with pick #199, a compensatory pick, in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft.^[33] 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.^[34] Ultimately, the Patriots front office chose Brady. Considering his later achievements, many analysts have called Brady the best NFL draft pick of all time.^{[35][36][37][38]}

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.^[39] During his rookie season, he was 1-of-3 passing, for six yards.^[40]

2001 season

The Patriots opened the season with a 23–17 loss at Cincinnati, with Bledsoe as the starting quarterback.^[40] 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 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.^[41] Brady was named the starter for the season's third game, against the Indianapolis Colts. In his first two games as starter, 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.^[42]

In the Pats' fifth game, Brady began to find his stride. Trailing the visiting San Diego Chargers 26–16 in the fourth quarter, Brady led the Patriots on two scoring drives to force overtime, and another in overtime to set up a winning field goal. Brady finished the game with 33 pass completions on 54 attempts, for 364 yards, and two touchdowns.^[43] The following week, Brady again played well during the rematch at Indianapolis, with a passer rating of 148.3 in a 38–17 win.^[44] 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 2001–02 NFL playoffs with a first-round bye. Brady finished with 2,843 passing yards and 18 touchdowns and earned an invitation to the 2002 Pro Bowl.^[40][45]

2001 postseason

In 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, Brady lost control of the ball after being hit by Raiders' cornerback, and 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 oninstant replay, ruling it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.^[46]

In the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady injured his knee, and was relieved by Bledsoe.^[47] 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.^[48]

The score was tied with 1:21 left in the Super Bowl and the Patriots were at their own 17—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.^[49] Instead, 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 by a score of 20–17, after Adam Vinatieri made another field goal as time expired. 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.^[50] A possible quarterback controversy was averted when Bledsoe was traded to the Buffalo Bills in the offseason, cementing Brady's status as the starter.

2002 season

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.^[51]

Although posting a career-low single-season rating of 85.7, Brady threw for a league-leading 28 touchdown passes and 921 more yards than in 2001, though his fourteeninterceptions would turn out to be a career high.^[42] However, 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, 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, Brady led the Patriots to twelve consecutive victories to finish the season, thus winning the AFC East.^[52] Statistically, Brady's strongest game of the season was against Buffalo, when he achieved a season-high quarterback rating of 122.9.^[42] Brady finished with 3,620 passing yards and 23 touchdowns,^[40] and was third in NFL MVP voting to co-winners Peyton Manning and Steve McNair.^[53]

2003 postseason

In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. On February 1, 2004, 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, 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, Brady engineered a drive to put the Patriots in position for the game-winning field goal.^[54]

2004 season

Brady during Super Bowl XXXIX

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 (though for official records, the NFL considers it an 18-game regular season winning streak; it does not count playoff games).^[55] 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.^[56] The Patriots also won the AFC East divisional 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.^[40]

2004 postseason

In the AFC playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers.^[57] 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.^[58]Against the NFL's best defensive team,^[57] he recorded a quarterback passer rating of 130.5, his highest of the season.^[42] On February 6, 2005, the Patriots narrowly defeated the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 24–21, to win Super Bowl XXXIX. Brady threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns^[59] while capturing the Patriots' third championship in four years.

2005 season

During the 2005 season, the Patriots were forced to rely more on Brady's passing, due to injuries suffered by running backs Corey Dillon, Patrick Pass, and Kevin Faulk.^[60][61]Brady also had to adjust to a new center and a new running back: Heath Evans. The results were positive; Brady finished first in the league with 4,110 passing yards and third in the league with 26 touchdowns.^[40] 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.^[42] He rushed for 89 yards and fumbled a career-low four times.^[42] He and the Patriots finished with a 10–6 record, winning their third straight AFC East title.^[62]

2005 postseason

In the playoffs, 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. Brady threw for 341 yards in the game with one touchdown and two interceptions, in the first playoff loss of his career.^[63] After the season's end, it was revealed that Brady had been playing with a sports hernia since December. Linebacker Willie McGinest commented on it and said he knew, but Brady continued on playing.^[64]

Brady on the sideline with teammates Randy Moss and Jabar Gaffney, after throwing for his record-breaking 50th passing touchdown of the season at Giants Stadium.

2006 season

Brady led the Patriots to a 12–4 record and the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs.^[65] In the regular season, Brady threw for 3,529 yards and 24 touchdowns.^[40] He was not among the players initially selected to the Pro Bowl,^[66] although he was offered an injury-replacement selection when Philip Rivers was forced to withdraw (which he declined).^[67]

2006 postseason

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 Brady went 22–34 for 212 yards and two TDs.^[68] In the divisional round, the Patriots traveled to San Diego to take on theChargers. This was Brady's first playoff game in his home state of California. Brady and the Patriots struggled against the Chargers, whom many had picked as favorites to win Super Bowl XLI.^[69] With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Patriots down by eight points, 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.^[70]

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, culminating in a last minute interception thrown by Brady, and the Patriots losing the game to the Colts, 34–38.^[71]

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 Brady; and running back Sammy Morris—Brady enjoyed what some sports writers have described as the best season ever by a quarterback.^[72][73] The average score of a 2007 Patriots regular season game would be 37–17 by the end of the year.^[74] Brady led the Patriots to the first 16–0 regular season record in league history, outscoring opponents by more than a 2-to-1 margin, but also attained numerous career, franchise, and NFL records and milestones in the process. 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.^[75] 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. He also had the first perfect passer rating of his career.^[76] 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.^[77] During the last game of the year, Brady threw two touchdown passes; his second touchdown was his 50th, breaking Peyton Manning's 2004 record of 49.^{[citation needed]}

Brady in December 2007

Brady finished the season with 4,806 passing yards, 50 touchdown passes, and only 8 interceptions. It was unanimously voted the greatest passing season of all time by ESPN in 2013. His 50:8 touchdown to interception ratio was a then NFL record (it currently^[when?] is the third best). He became the first quarterback to pass for 50 touchdowns in a season and his 117.2 passer rating is currently^[when?] the fourth highest in a single season. His 8.7% touchdown passing percentage is currently^[when?] the third highest ever in a season. He led the Patriots to becoming the first team to ever go undefeated in the regular season since the 16 game schedule was enforced and directed an offense that scored a then NFL record 589 points and 75 total touchdowns. Those records stood until they were eclipsed by the 2013 Broncos. The team's 50 total touchdown passes is the fourth most ever in a season. For his efforts, Brady was named the Most Valuable Player of this season, as well as Offensive Player of the Year. He 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.^[78]

2007 postseason

In the Patriots' first playoff game, an AFC Divisional game against Jacksonville, 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.^[79] With the win, the Patriots matched the 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 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. 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.^[80] In Super Bowl XLII, Brady was pressured heavily and sacked five times. The Patriots did manage 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 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.

Brady in action against theWashington Redskins on August 28, 2009.

2008 season

Brady did not play in any games during the 2008 preseason or in the 2008 Pro Bowl due to a right foot injury from the previous AFC Championship game.^[81] In the Patriots' 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium, 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 Brady would require surgery, and it would prematurely end his 2008 season.^[82] Brady tore both his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament.^[83] The injury ended Brady's streak of 111 consecutive starts (seventh in the list of most consecutive starts by an NFL quarterback, behind Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Ron Jaworski, and Joe Flacco).^[84] Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at the Los Angeles Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic October 6, using Brady'spatellar tendon graft to replace the torn ligament, and also repaired his medial collateral ligament, through a separate incision in his left knee.^[85] 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.^[86][87]

2009 season

Tom Brady in Landover, Maryland, on August 28, 2009, during warmups in a preseason game against theWashington Redskins.

In his first game back from an injury, 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 Brady and Benjamin Watson connected on two straight touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 25–24 win. Brady was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 13th time in his career for his performance.^[88]

On October 18, 2009, in an early season snowstorm, Brady set an NFL record against the Tennessee Titans for most touchdowns in a single quarter, throwing five in the second quarter. 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.^[89] The Patriots' 59–0 victory over the Titans tied the record for the largest margin of victory since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger,^[90] and set a record for largest halftime lead in NFL history (they led 45–0).

Brady would finish the 2009 regular season with 4,398 yards passing and 28 touchdowns for a 96.2 rating,^[40] despite a broken right ring finger and three fractured ribs, all which were suffered over the course of the season.^[91] He was selected as a reserve to the 2010 Pro Bowl and named the 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.^[92]

2009 postseason

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.^[93]

2010 season

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 and will likely keep Brady with the Patriots through the 2014 NFL season.^[94]

Brady became the quickest to achieve 100 regular season wins by helping his team defeat the Miami Dolphins 41–14 on October 4, 2010.^[95]

On November 21, 2010, Brady tied Brett Favre's record of winning 25 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 31–28 win over the Indianapolis Colts.^[96] Brady's last regular-season loss at home was on November 12, 2006, a 17–14 loss to the New York Jets.^[97] On December 6, 2010, Brady set an NFL record by winning 26 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 45–3 victory over the New York Jets.^[98]

Brady threw for 3,900 yards with 36 touchdowns and just four interceptions on the season.^[40] He 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.^[99]

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.^[100] Brady was also the only unanimous selection for the AP All-Pro Team and was named the 2010Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He won, by unanimous decision, the MVP award for the second time in his career.^[101]

2010 postseason

After earning a bye week, the Patriots lost to the New York Jets in the divisional playoffs, 28-21. Brady finished the game 29 of 45 for 299 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. His one pick ended his NFL record of consecutive passes without an interception at 340.^[102]

2011 season

In Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season, 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.^[103][104]

In the regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills, 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.^[40]

2011 postseason

There's no quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady. He's the best. He does so much for us in so many ways on so many different levels. I'm very fortunate that he's our quarterback and what he's able to do for this team. It's good to win with him and all the rest of our players. If that's more than somebody else did, I don't really care about that.^[105]

–Bill Belichick

In the Patriots' 45–10 rout of the Denver Broncos in the Divisional round, 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.^[106] The win, his first postseason win since January 2008, gave Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sole possession of the NFL record for postseason wins by a QB-coach combo with 15.^[107] In the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens, 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 Brady and Patriots reach their fifth Super Bowl since Brady joined the team.^[108] In Super Bowl XLVI, Brady and the Patriots met the New York Giants, meeting in the Championship for the second time in five years. 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 prevented Brady from winning his fourth Super Bowl.^[109]

2012 season

Brady started all 16 regular season games of the 2012 NFL season and led the Patriots to a 12–4 record. The Patriot scored 557 total points, the third highest in league history and Brady became the first quarterback to lead his team to 10 division titles. With that 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 (another record). He finished the season with 4,827 passing yards, 34 touchdowns, only 8 interceptions, and a passer rating of 98.7. It was Brady's third straight season throwing for over 30 touchdowns.^[110]

2012 postseason

Brady also started both Patriots play-off games, winning against the Houston Texans. With the victory, Brady surpassed Joe Montana for most career playoff wins, with 17. The Patriots were then upset by the eventual Super Bowl champ Baltimore Ravens, 28–13 in the AFC championship.

On February 25, 2013, Brady and the Patriots agreed on a three-year contract extension, which will keep him with the team through 2017.^[111] Peter King called it an "amazing" deal, as Brady took just $27 million in new money over the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons, and also noted that it reflected Patriots owner Robert Kraft's desire to make sure Brady retired a Patriot.^[112]

2013 season

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots began the season with much upheaval on the offensive side of the ball with the injury of Rob Gronkowski, the arrest of Aaron Hernandez, the departure of Wes Welker to the Denver Broncos and Danny Woodhead to the San Diego Chargers in free agency, and the release of Brandon Lloyd. To replace them, the Patriots signed Danny Amendola in free agency, drafted rookies Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce, and signed undrafted rookie free agent Kenbrell Thompkins. Despite showing good chemistry with his new receiving corps in the preseason, Brady struggled in the first 2 games of the season completing only 52% of his passes (48 out of 91) and only 3 TD and one interception and passer rating under 75.0 in both games.

Brady during the 2013 season

In Weeks 3 and 4, Brady completed over 60% of his passes and threw 4 TDs and 1 interception in wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons. Brady, who was in pursuit of Drew Brees' record of at least one touchdown in 54 consecutive games, saw the streak end at 52 games in a Week 5 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals that held him to 197 yards, completing under 50% of his passes (18 out of 38) for the second time in the season. In a Week 6 game against the New Orleans Saints, the Patriots struggled in the first half and bounced back in the second with Brady going 25 out of 43, for 269 yards and a clutch touchdown pass to Kenbrell Thompkins as time expired to pull out the upset over the Saints. The Patriots improved to 5–1 on the season. In Week 6 against the New York Jets, Brady was outplayed by Geno Smith, despite Rob Gronkowski coming back and having 8 catches for 114 yards. Brady completed 47.8% of his passes, marking the third time in the season he went under 50%. With Gronkowski healthy again, the Patriots had wins in Week 7 against divisional rival Miami Dolphins and Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Brady having his best game of the season going 23 out of 33, for 432 yards 4 TD and 0 interceptions, with a nearly perfect passer rating of 151.8 in a 55–31 win. Brady and the Patriots headed to the bye week with a 7–2 record.

In a Week 10 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Patriots trailed by 4 and Brady, with only 59 second left and three timeouts, drove his offense downfield to Carolina's 18 yard line, and with 3 seconds left, threw a pass to Rob Gronkowski that was intercepted despite the officials calling a defensive pass interference penalty on Luke Kuechly that was waved off. Brady and the 7–3 Patriots began in Week 11 against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, in what was the 14th clash between the two, a series of three dramatic comeback wins. After going to the half trailing by 24, Brady and the Patriots scored 31 unanswered points. The Patriots won after a muffed punt in overtime with a field goal from Stephen Gostkowski. Brady outplayed Peyton Manning, who had been playing at an MVP level, throwing for 344 yards and 3 TDs as Peyton threw for 150 with 1 TD and an interception. After that, the Patriots began their Week 13 and Week 14 matchups trailing in the first half to then pull out comebacks in the 4th quarter. In the Week 15 AFC East clash against the Dolphins, the Patriots could have become, at least temporarily, the number 1 seed in the AFC as well as clinched the AFC East title for 5th season in a row, but this time the 4th quarter comeback was denied as Brady threw an interception as time expired on a potential game winning drive. Brady and the Patriots fell to 10–4. With a Week 16 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Brady collected his 147th win as a starting quarterback and tied Dan Marino for 4th place all time. With the Week 17 win over the Buffalo Bills, Tom Brady tied John Elway for the 3rd place all time in wins as a starting quarterback.

2013 postseason

Brady's 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 Indianapolis Colts, Brady made his 25th playoff appearance, breaking Brett Favre's career record for playoff appearances by a quarterback (Jerry Rice appeared in 29 playoff games). The following week, the Patriots lost to the Denver Broncos, eliminating Brady and the Patriots from the playoffs.

2014 season

Brady in September 2014 vs. the Vikings.

Brady's Patriots once again finished 12-4, this after a late-preseason trade of guard Logan Mankins to Tampa Bay for tight end Tim Wright. Brady started the season with a 33-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins. It was Brady's first opening day loss since 2003. Brady was good for 241 yards and a touchdown. New England rebounded against the Minnesota Vikings, but Brady struggled, throwing for 149 yards and a touchdown in 30-17 win. Against the Oakland Raiders Brady was pressured all day, but threw for 234 yards and a touchdown in 16-9 win. After a 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Brady led New England to back-to-back wins, including his first 300-yard performance of the season, against the Buffalo Bills. Brady then defeated the New York Jets with a 261-yard performance that included 3 touchdowns. The following week, a 51-23 embarrassment of the Chicago Bears saw Brady throw for 354 yards and a season-high 5 touchdowns. After passing for 333 yards, and 257 yards in his next two games against the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts respectively, Brady defeated the Detroit Lions 34-9 with 349 passing yards and 2 touchdowns against only one interception. The Patriots winning streak was put to the test against the Green Bay Packers in week 13. Down 13-0 early, Brady threw for 2 touchdowns, no picks, and 245 yards. Still down 26-21, Brady was unable to give the Patriots their 8th straight victory. After trailing 14-3 at the San Diego Chargers, Brady rallied his team with 317 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and only one pick, to a 23-14 comeback win. Brady clinched his NFL record 12th AFC East division title with 287 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and a pick. Brady struggled in his final two games, throwing for only 182 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in 17-16 victory against the Jets, and 80 yards in one half of a game against theBuffalo Bills, a 17-9 loss.

2014 postseason

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. Brady led New England on an 8 play, 78 yard drive, and ran for a score to cut the Raven lead to 14-7. In the second quarter, Brady's 15 yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola tied the score at 14-14. After getting the ball back, Brady threw an interception at the end of the first half. Joe Flacco capitalized on it by throwing an 11-yard touchdown strike to Owen Daniels to give Baltimore a 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. With the score tied at 28, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker drilled a 25-yard field goal to give Baltimore a 31-28 4th quarter lead. Brady got the ball back, and threw a 23-yard touchdown to Brandon LaFell to give the Patriots their first lead, up 35-31. After a Duron Harmon interception and a Joe Flacco Hail Mary attempt failed, Brady clinched his record 9th AFC Championship Game, fourth straight, and the third championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. After a 45-7 blowout, Brady advanced to play his record breaking sixth Super Bowl, breaking a tie with John Elway. In Super Bowl XLIX, Brady completed 37-50 passes for 328 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He guided a 10-point 4th 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 for most Super Bowl MVP's. His 37 complete passes in the game is a Super Bowl record.^[113]

Deflategate

Further information: Deflategate

On May 6, 2015, the NFL published a 243-page report regarding the deflation of footballs used in the AFC Championship game.^[114] 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 failed to cooperate with investigators.^[115] NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Troy Vincent's May 11 letter to Brady 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."^[116] Troy Vincent's letter further stated: "With respect to your particular involvement, the report established that there is substantial and credible evidence to conclude you were at least generally aware of the actions of the Patriots' employees involved in the deflation of the footballs and that it was unlikely that their actions were done without your knowledge. Moreover, the report documents your failure to cooperate fully and candidly with the investigation, including by refusing to produce any relevant electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information, and by providing testimony that the report concludes was not plausible and contradicted by other evidence." ^[116] Brady, through the NFL Players Assocation, officially appealed the suspension on May 14.^[117]

On July 28, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld Brady's suspension.^[118] Brady has reportedly given permission to the NFLPA to appeal the suspension in federal court.^[119]On July 28, the NFL announced the upholding of the four-game suspension, citing Brady's destruction of his cell phone as a critical factor: “On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed,” the league statement read. “He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady.”^[120][121] The NFL also filed papers in Manhattan federal court seeking to confirm Roger Goodell's decision.^[122] On July 29 Brady released a statement on his Facebook page criticizing Goodell's decsion to uphold the suspension, saying in part "I am very disappointed by the NFL's decision to uphold the 4 game suspension against me. I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either... I will not allow my unfair discipline to become a precedent for other NFL players without a fight."^[123][124]

Commentary on the initial punishment was mixed. Bleacher Report referred to the penalties as "brutal".^[125] 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.^[125][126] Others described the punishment as "firm but fair".^[127]

Professional statistics

LEGEND

Super Bowl champions

AFC champions

Bold - League leader

Regular season

New England Patriots
				Passing[128]								Rushing				Sacked		Fumbles		Team record
Year	Team	G	GS	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Sack	Yds	Fum	Lost	W/L (as starter)
2000	NE	1	0	1	3	33.3	6	2.0	0	0	42.4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
2001	NE	15	14	264	413	63.9	2,843	6.9	18	12	86.5	36	43	1.2	0	41	216	12	3	11-3
2002	NE	16	16	373	601	62.1	3,764	6.3	28	14	85.7	42	110	2.6	1	31	190	11	5	9-7
2003	NE	16	16	317	527	60.2	3,620	6.9	23	12	85.9	42	63	1.5	1	32	219	13	5	14-2
2004	NE	16	16	288	474	60.8	3,692	7.8	28	14	92.6	43	28	0.7	0	26	162	7	5	14-2
2005	NE	16	16	334	550	63.0	4,110	7.8	26	14	92.3	27	89	3.3	1	26	188	4	3	10-6
2006	NE	16	16	319	516	61.8	3,529	6.8	24	12	87.9	49	102	2.1	0	26	175	12	4	12-4
2007	NE	16	16	398	578	68.9	4,806	8.3	50	8	117.2	37	98	2.6	2	21	128	6	4	16-0
2008	NE	1	1	7	11	63.6	76	6.9	0	0	83.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1-0
2009	NE	16	16	371	565	65.7	4,398	7.8	28	13	96.2	29	44	1.5	1	16	86	4	2	10-6
2010	NE	16	16	324	492	65.9	3,900	7.9	36	4	111.0	31	30	1.0	1	25	175	3	1	14-2
2011	NE	16	16	401	611	65.6	5,235	8.6	39	12	105.6	43	109	2.5	3	32	173	6	2	13-3
2012	NE	16	16	401	537	63.0	4,827	7.6	34	8	98.7	23	32	1.4	4	27	182	2	0	12-4
2013	NE	16	16	380	628	60.5	4,343	6.9	25	11	87.3	32	18	0.6	0	40	256	9	3	12-4
2014	NE	16	16	373	582	64.1	4,109	7.1	33	9	97.4	36	57	1.6	0	21	134	6	3	12-4
Total		209	207	4,551	7,168	63.5	53,258	7.4	392	143	96.0	470	823	1.8	14	364	2,284	95	40	160-47

Playoffs

New England Patriots
				Passing[129]								Rushing				Sacked		Fumbles
Year	Team	G	GS	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Sack	Yds	Fum	Lost
2001	NE	3	3	60	97	61.9	572	5.9	1	1	77.3	8	22	2.8	1	5	36	1	0
2003	NE	3	3	75	126	59.5	792	6.3	5	2	84.5	12	18	1.5	0	0	0	0	0
2004	NE	3	3	55	81	67.9	587	7.2	5	0	109.4	7	3	0.4	1	0	0	1	1
2005	NE	2	2	35	63	55.6	542	8.6	4	2	92.2	3	8	2.7	0	4	12	2	0
2006	NE	3	3	70	119	58.8	724	6.1	5	4	76.5	8	18	2.2	0	4	22	2	0
2007	NE	3	3	77	109	70.6	737	6.8	6	3	96.0	4	−1	−0.2	0	8	52	1	1
2009	NE	1	1	23	42	54.8	154	3.7	2	3	49.1	0	0	0	0	3	22	1	1
2010	NE	1	1	29	45	64.4	299	6.6	2	1	89.0	2	2	1.0	0	5	40	1	0
2011	NE	3	3	75	111	67.6	878	7.9	8	4	100.4	9	10	1.1	1	3	15	0	0
2012	NE	2	2	54	94	57.4	664	7.1	4	2	84.7	3	4	1.3	0	1	9	0	0
2013	NE	2	2	37	63	58.7	475	7.5	1	0	87.7	3	6	2.0	1	4	34	1	0
2014	NE	3	3	93	135	68.9	921	6.8	10	4	100.3	9	13	1.4	1	3	16	0	0
Total‡		29	29	683	1,085	62.9	7,345	6.8	53	26	89.0	68	103	1.5	5	45	305	10	3

‡ Career totals including 2014 postseason.

Super Bowl

New England Patriots
				Passing[130]								Rushing
Year	SB	Team	Opp	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2001	XXXVI	NE	STL	16	27	59.3	145	5.4	1	0	86.2	1	3	3.0	0
2003	XXXVIII	NE	CAR	32	48	66.7	354	7.4	3	1	100.5	2	12	6.0	0
2004	XXXIX	NE	PHI	23	33	69.7	236	7.2	2	0	110.2	1	-1	-1.0	0
2007	XLII	NE	NYG	29	48	60.4	266	5.5	1	0	82.5	0	0	0	0
2011	XLVI	NE	NYG	27	41	65.9	276	6.7	2	1	91.5	0	0	0	0
2014	XLIX	NE	SEA	37	50	74.0	328	6.6	4	2	101.1	2	-3	-1.5	0
Career	6			164	247	66.4	1,605	6.5	13	4	95.3	6	11	1.8	0

NFL records

Playoffs (career)

• Most games played - 29^[131]
• Most games started for a quarterback - 29
• Most games won as starting quarterback - 21
• Most touchdown passes - 53
• Most yards gained - 7,345
• Most passes completed - 683
• Most passes attempted - 1,085
• Most division titles for a starting quarterback - 12
• Most playoff wins for a starting quarterback - 21
• Most NFL conference championship appearances for a starting quarterback - 9
• Most NFL conference championship wins a starting quarterback - 6

Super Bowl (career)

• Most touchdown passes - 13^[132]
• Most yards gained - 1,605
• Most passes completed - 164
• Most passes attempted - 247
• Most passes completed in first half of a single Super Bowl - 20
• Most passes completed in a single Super Bowl - 37
• Most Super Bowl appearances - 6 (tied with Mike Lodish)

Personal life

Brady riding a bicycle for charity at the Best Buddies Ride in Hyannis, Massachusetts in May 2009.

Brady dated actress Bridget Moynahan from 2004 until late 2006.^[133] On February 18, 2007, Moynahan confirmed to People magazine that she was more than three months pregnant with her and Brady's child.^[133][134] Brady and Moynahan ended their relationship sometime in early December 2006, around the time Moynahan became pregnant.^[135] Though not in the delivery room when their son, John Edward Thomas Moynahan,^[136] was born in August 2007 at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California,^[137] Brady was present the day of the birth.^[138]John's middle names are Brady's own first and middle names in reverse order, while Moynahan's father's first name is Edward.

Brady began dating Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen in December 2006.^[139] Brady revealed to Details magazine in 2009 that he and Gisele were first set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.^[140] Brady and Bündchen married on February 26, 2009 in an intimate Catholic ceremony in Santa Monica.^[141][142] Together, the couple have two children: son Benjamin Rein Brady (born December 2009),^[143] whose middle name is a shortened version of Bündchen's father's name Reinoldo;^[144] and daughter Vivian Lake Brady (born December 2012).^[145] The family moved to a $20 million mansion in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles in January 2012^[146] and subsequently bought a $14 million condominium atOne Madison in Manhattan in October 2013. They are building another home near Boston.^[147]

Brady has also been featured as a guest star on some popular television programs, hosting Saturday Night Live in 2005^[148] and voiced himself onThe 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.^[149][150] In 2009 he appeared as himself on an episode of Entourage. He also had a small role, as himself, in the 2015 comedy film Ted 2.

Brady and baseball player Kevin Youkilis became brothers-in-law in 2012 when Youkilis married Brady's sister, Julie.^[151]

Brady has endorsed brands including Uggs, Under Armour, Movado watches, and Glaceau Smartwater. According to Forbes, Brady earned about $7 million in endorsements alone in 2014.^[152][153]