In the NFL, winning a Super Bowl is very hard, but there’s a certain player who makes winning a Super Bowl look effortless. That player is Tom Brady. Brady, who played 23 seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has had a storybook career that includes seven Super Bowl wins, three MVP awards, and five Super Bowl MVP awards. After Brady’s retirement after the 2022-23 season, the debate for who’s the “GOAT” in the NFL has now been settled. 

Early Life 

Tom Brady was born on August 3, 1977, in San Mateo, California. He grew up in an athletic family, with all of his older sisters playing sports like soccer, basketball, and softball. He started playing football during his freshman year at an all boys Catholic school. Eventually he would go to the University of Michigan to continue playing football. During his four years at Michigan, they would go 40-9, including a 20-5 record when he was promoted to a starter as a junior and a senior. Unfortunately, despite his winning record at Michigan, he wouldn’t get drafted until the sixth round with the 199th overall pick in the NFL draft. People thought that he would never be good in the NFL because he was picked so late in the draft, but little did they know that this would be the start of a legendary career. 

A Star Is Born

Tom Brady didn’t have the best start to his career in the NFL, as he was a backup behind starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe in his rookie year. The following year, Bledsoe suffered an injury halfway through the season, giving Brady a chance to show the entire NFL what he was made of. From then on, he would go on to have one of the most decorated careers of any athlete in sports history. In 2001, in only his second year as a NFL quarterback, he led the Patriots to their first ever Super Bowl title as a franchise after defeating the St. Louis Rams (now the Los Angeles Rams). 

Two years later in 2003, Brady would lead the Patriots to another Super Bowl title by defeating the Carolina Panthers. The following year in 2004, he would have a championship encore by leading the Patriots to two straight Super Bowl titles after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles. He also made history by becoming the fastest quarterback in NFL history to win three Super Bowls. From then on, everyone knew that a star had been born. In 2007, he would team up with hall of fame wide receiver Randy Moss to form one of the most deadly duos in NFL history as both of them set single season records, with Moss catching 23 touchdowns, and Tom Brady throwing 50 touchdowns as they led the Patriots to a undefeated record of 16-0, and a trip to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, they were upset by the New York Giants in one of the most shocking upsets in Super Bowl history. 

G.O.A.T

As Tom Brady’s career goes into a new chapter, the Patriots would add players like Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, and Stephon Gilmore in the hopes that they could lead to more Super Bowl titles. In 2011, Tom Brady would lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl rematch with the New York Giants, where Brady hoped to get revenge on the Giants, but unfortunately, the Giants would yet again beat him in the Super Bowl. In 2015, Brady would lead the Patriots back to the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks. Brady would win his fourth Super Bowl after arguably one of the most iconic moments in Super Bowl history, when the Seahawks were at the one yard line and decided to pass the ball, before getting intercepted by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, cementing Brady’s fourth Super Bowl win. 

In 2017, in one of the best comebacks in NFL history, Tom Brady would lead the Patriots to victory against the Atlanta Falcons after being down 28-3, winning his fifth Super Bowl. A year later in 2018, he led the Patriots to another Super Bowl appearance against the Philadelphia Eagles, although he couldn’t secure his sixth Super Bowl and the Eagles went on to upset him and the Patriots. A year later in 2019, Brady once again led the Patriots to a third straight Super Bowl appearance against the Los Angeles Rams. This time, he would be successful and win his sixth Super Bowl. After that victory, he would have the most Super Bowls by any player in NFL history. 

Unretirement / Legacy

After spending 21 years with the Patriots, Brady decided to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Bucs) in hopes of a change of scenery, as well as chasing a record-extending seventh Super Bowl title. When he signed with the Bucs in 2021, they were a very good team with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Shaquill Barrett. In just his first year on the Bucs, he would lead Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl appearance against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. In dominating fashion, he would lead the Bucs to a blowout win to improve on his record of seven Super Bowl wins. 

A year later in 2022, he would announce his retirement from the NFL after 22 seasons. But a month and a half later, Brady would announce that he is unretiring and that he would play one more season in hopes of winning his eighth Super Bowl. The Bucs would make the playoffs, but unfortunately, would be defeated by the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round, ending Brady’s hopes of winning his eighth Super Bowl. After the 2023 season ended, he announced that he would be retiring “for good”. After his announcement, he officially cemented his legacy as the greatest quarterback in NFL history, and one of the greatest athletes of all time.