Sports Illustrated commemorates the career and retirement of Tom Brady.
TRUST THE PROCESS • TOM BRADY’S BRILLIANCE CAME FROM DOING THE SAME THING—VERY WELL—YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT
Scenes From a Career • ON AND OFF THE FIELD, TOM BRADY PROVIDED COUNTLESS MEMORABLE MOMENTS THAT, WHEN TAKEN TOGETHER, TELL THE STORY OF THE GREATEST QUARTER BACK THE GAME HAS SEEN
TB12 ORIGINS: WOLVERINE • THE ME-AGAINST-THE-WORLD MENTALITY THAT CAME TO DEFINE TOM BRADY FIRST EMERGED IN ANN ARBOR, WHERE HIS COACHES ALWAYS SEEMED MORE INTRIGUED BY OTHER OPTIONS AT QUARTERBACK
Trophy Life • FOR TWO DECADES, TOM BRADY HAS BEEN HOISTING HARDWARE AND AMASSING AWARDS, INCLUDING SEVEN LOMBARDI TROPHIES AND TWICE BEING NAMED OUR SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR
XXXVI • February 3, 2002 • Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
XXXVIII • February 1, 2004 • Reliant Stadium, Houston
XXXIX • February 6, 2005 • Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville
The Ultimate Teammate • THE THREE SUPER BOWL RINGS WERE NICE, BUT TOM BRADY’S GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT—AND THE LEADERSHIP THAT GREW FROM IT—ARE WHAT CLINCHED HIS FIRST SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD
XLIX • February 1, 2015 • University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
XLI • February 5, 2017 • NRG Stadium, Houston
LIII • February 3, 2019 • Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
LV • February 7, 2021 • Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
One for the Ages • TO CAP A YEAR IN WHICH HE LED THE BUCCANEERS TO A SUPER BOWL AND TURNED 44, TOM BRADY WAS NAMED SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’S SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR FOR THE SECOND TIME
BY THE NUMBERS • THANKS TO TOM BRADY, THE NUMBER 12 WILL FOREVER BE ASSOCIATED WITH GREATNESS. HERE ARE A FEW OTHER DIGITS THAT DEMONSTRATE HIS EXCELLENCE
The Highs And Lows
Brady’s BFFs (Best Football Friends-and One Foe) • WITH HIS THROWS, INTENSITY AND COMPASSION, THE QUARTERBACK MADE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON A HOST OF TEAMMATES (AND ONE LONGTIME RIVAL WITH WHOM HE WILL ALWAYS BE LINKED)
GRONK! • THE GREGARIOUS TIGHT END AND BRADY MADE FOR AN ODD COUPLE, BUT THEIR RESULTS WERE UNMATCHED
Brady’s Top Targets
DANNY AMENDOLA • Undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2008, Danny Playoff spent five years with the Patriots, catching six TD passes in 13 postseason games
CHARLIE WEIS • The longtime coach nearly died after gastric bypass surgery in 2002. He was in the hospital when Brady, who had just finished his second season, stopped by
DAN KOPPEN • Few players spent more time in close quarters with Brady than Koppen, his center from 2003 through ’11
JULIAN EDELMAN • Another unheralded player (he was a seventh-round pick) who thrived with Brady, the former college QB had four 90-catch seasons
DONTÉ STALLWORTH • Before the 2007 season Stallworth joined the Pats as a highly touted free agent who had spent five years in the league, with the Saints and the Eagles
FRENEMY LINES • MAGIC-BIRD? TIGER-PHIL? ALI-FRAZIER? THEY ALL TAKE A BACKSEAT TO BRADY-MANNING, WHOSE RIVALRY, WRITTEN OUT OVER 17 CHAPTERS, WAS THE GREATEST THE SPORTS WORLD HAS SEEN
Go Figure • Who was the better QB over 17 Brady-Manning meetings? Here’s head-to-head fodder for both sides of the argument
Hair Breadth • Tracking the archrivals’ ever-changing—or, in Manning’s case, totally static—coifs
COVER STORY • IN THE PAST 20 YEARS, BRADY HAS GRACED THE FRONT OF SPORTS ILLUSTRATED 25 TIMES, MORE THAN ANY OTHER FOOTBALL PLAYER
LAST SHOT • My playing career has been such a thrilling ride, and far beyond my imagination. … When you’re in it every day, you really don’t think about any kind of ending. As I sit here now, however, I think of all the great players and coaches I was privileged to play with and against—the...