Brady, Tom

Brady, Tom (Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr.), 1977–, American football player, b. San Mateo, Calif. One of the greatest professional quarterbacks of all time, he attended the Univ. of Michigan (1995–99), where he was a co-starter (1998–99) and led the team to win the 1999 Orange Bowl. Drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000, Brady was picked by Bill Belichick to replace the injured Drew Bledsoe in a Sept., 2001, game and became the team's starting quarterback. Canny, strong, and steady, with an accurate arm, Brady led the Pats to six victories (2002, 2004–5, 2015, 2017, 2019) in nine Super Bowl appearances, and was named that game's most valuable player four times (2002, 2004, 2015, 2017), all of which are records. In 2007, he marshaled New England's offense to what often seemed an inevitable undefeated regular season and was named NFL MVP, but he failed to win the Super Bowl. Brady passed for 50 touchdowns that year, breaking Peyton Manning's single-season record; Manning reclaimed the record in 2013. Brady also was named league MVP for the 2010 and 2017 seasons. He moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, leading them to the Super Bowl in his first season. In 2015 an NFL investigation said he was at least aware of the use of underinflated balls by the Patriots during a game, and he was suspended for four games.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Sports: Biographies