Whether you cheered for him or against him, there is no doubting what Tom Brady accomplished during his 22 seasons in the NFL.
A player who was seen as an afterthought in the NFL draft after getting picked in the sixth round, 199th overall, Brady now leaves the game with a legacy that is unmatched.
The countdown to Brady's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, is on now that the 44-year-old has officially announced his retirement. While he might not have gotten his dream to play in the NFL until he was 50, there is still plenty to acknowledge and celebrate.
When you play for more than two decades in the NFL, at the level Brady did, you are bound to write your name into the record books a few times. In Brady's case, the list of records he owns is quite extensive, and there are achievements he has that many probably don't know about.
Leaving The NFL At The Top
Let's start by looking at the obvious records everyone points to when they break down Brady's career.
Regular season records
• Games started: 316
• Wins: 243
• Pass completions: 7,263
• Pass completions in a season: 485
• Pass attempts: 11,317
• Passing touchdowns: 624
• Passing yards: 84,520
• Seasons with at least 3,000 passing yards: 19
• Games with multiple touchdowns: 198
• Seasons with at least 20 touchdown passes: 19
• Seasons as passing touchdowns leader: 5
Playoff records
• Games started: 47
• Wins: 35
• Passing touchdowns: 86
• Passing yards: 13,049
• Game-winning drives: 14
• Fourth-quarter comebacks: 9
Super Bowl records
• Games started: 10
• Wins: 7
• MVPs: 5
• Passing touchdowns: 21
• Game-winning drives: 6
• Passing yards in a Super Bowl: 505
• Oldest QB to start and win a Super Bowl
• Oldest player to win Super Bowl MVP
• Only QB to win a Super Bowl with an AFC and NFC team
Three Hall Of Fame Careers In One
To truly grasp what made Brady's career unlike any other, look no further than the fact that you could split his career into three stages and he'd have enough accolades to reach the Hall of Fame three times over.
Stage 1 - 2000-2006: Three Super Bowl titles, two Super Bowl MVPs, three Pro Bowls
Stage 2 - 2007-2013: Two regular-season MVPs, two first-team All-Pros, NFL Comeback Player of the Year, six Pro Bowls
Stage 3 - 2014-2021: Four Super Bowl titles, one regular-season MVP, three Super Bowl MVPs, one first-team All-Pro, five Pro Bowls
What Brady was able to accomplish through each point of his career is something many NFL players wished they could replicate. You could also take each stage of Brady's career and stack it up against quarterbacks who are already in the Hall of Fame.
Production Didn't Drop With Age
What sets Brady's career apart from many players is how his dominant play continued well into his later years.
Unfortunately for the 2000 NFL Draft class, Brady actually had more success in his final seasons than anyone else in their entire career.
Tom Brady (final five seasons)
81 GP, 22,938 yards, 168 TD, 51 INT, 98.6 QB Rating
Marc Bulger (selected 31 spots ahead of Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft)
96 GP, 22,814 yards, 122 TD, 93 INT, 84.4 QB Rating
Stats provided by Statemuse and Pro Football Reference.
It was really his final years that allowed Brady to cement his status as the greatest of all time. Just look at the accomplishments he's accrued since turning 40:
• First player to win multiple Super Bowls
• Most touchdown passes in a season as starting QB: 43 TDs (2021)
• Oldest player to play in and win a Super Bowl: 43 years old
Super Bowl Dominance
Brady's Super Bowl success is something many players, coaches and franchises definitely envy. It's difficult enough to win a single title, let alone multiple, which is why Brady's seven championship victories will forever be his crowning achievement.
No NFL franchise has more Super Bowl wins than Brady, and only the Patriots have more appearances in the championship game than their former quarterback. Not only that, but no other quarterback has played in the Super Bowl after turning 40 — Brady did it three times.
Let's also not forget his performance in Super Bowl 51, when he led the Patriots to a stunning comeback down 28-3 to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime. Brady helped New England score on five-straight drives, including a pair of two-point conversions.
Final season a poetic ending
His 2021 season has him in the conversation for the NFL MVP award after he finished atop the league in passing yards (5,316) and passing touchdowns (43), both of which were the most ever by a player in his final season. It was also the most passing yards Brady has ever thrown for in his career, beating his previous high from 2011 (5,234 yards).
Standing in Brady's way of his fourth MVP award is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers had a higher completion percentage, fewer interceptions, a higher quarterback rating and more votes in the All-Pro selection process.
If Brady wins the MVP award, it would be justified based on how he performed. But even if he doesn't, the San Mateo, Calif., native definitely went out on a high note.
