The Incredible Records That Tom Brady Set During His Amazing NFL Career
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's not officially official yet, but it certainly seems like Tom Brady is getting ready to call it a career. It doesn't really matter when it happens though, as Brady will walk away the greatest player and winner to ever suit up in the NFL.
From taking his first snap as the Patriots starting quarterback in 2001 to his final pass for the Buccaneers in 2022, Brady simply dominated the game of football. His underdog story will go down as one of the best to ever be told, as the former sixth-round pick went on to win seven Super Bowls and set countless NFL passing records over his 22 NFL seasons. And if the records aren't impressive enough, Brady's longevity certainly is; he kept piling up wins, stats and records at the age of 44, something no player had ever done in the history of the league.
We'll go out on a limb and say that Brady will have a spot in Canton in the five years. Heck, the man should have his own wing after essentially putting together three different Hall of Fame careers. He won when he was a young pup -- a calm and cool one, at that -- just finding his way with the Patriots, he won when he was one of the most feared quarterbacks in the NFL, and he kept winning as an old man in both New England and Tampa Bay.
The Mount Rushmore debate is one of the most popular in the sports world. Brady isn't just on it, but it should really just have four Bradys from various points in his career.
Simply put, there will never be a player, a winner, a champion, like Tom Brady again. Here is the long list of accomplishments that Brady enjoyed during his career, highlighted by those seven Super Bowl rings that
Super Tom
This is where the conversation on Tom Brady starts: His ridiculous success in the Super Bowl. Brady went to the big game 10 times, and his seven Super Bowl wins is the record for a quarterback, three ahead of his idol, Joe Montana, and Terry Bradshaw. Brady has more Super Bowl wins than any other quarterback has Super Bowl appearances. He owns more Super Bowl rings to himself than 30 NFL franchises can claim.
That's perverse! But it's only the start.
Brady has five Super Bowl MVPs -- more than anyone else. His 21 touchdowns passes in the big game are more than anyone else, more than the next two guys on the list (Montana, 11, and Bradshaw, 9) combined. He spread those 21 touchdowns out to 13 different receivers over the years.
He also owns the most career passing yards in Super Bowl history (3,039) and the most passing yards in a single game with 505, which he set in New England's Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles. It broke his own record of 466 yards set against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Yes, Brady has so many Super Bowl records that he broke his own from time to time.
All that winning means there was probably a game-winning drive or two involved. How about six? Brady led game-winning drives to take the lead or break a tie in the fourth quarter in each of New England's Super Bowl wins, making him, obviously, the only quarterback to lead game-winning drives in six Super Bowls.
Let that one soak in: Brady led game-winning drives to take the lead or break a tie in the fourth quarter in each of New England's six Super Bowl wins. He also led go-ahead drives in the fourth quarter in two of New England's Super Bowl losses.
He got a jump on making all this history, as Brady is the only quarterback to start and win three Super Bowls before his 28th birthday.
And despite playing in all those Super Bowls against the best team the opposing conference had to offer, Brady only threw six career Super Bowl interceptions, which is only the fourth-most -- impressive considering he's been there more than anyone. Brady threw 48 straight passes without getting picked off in two different Super Bowls, though they were both New England losses (2008 vs. Giants and 2018 vs. Eagles).
Brady dominating the NFL well into his 40s is something that will likely never be repeated. He was the oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl, the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, and the oldest player to win a Super Bowl, doing all of that at the age of 43 years, six months and five days with his Super Bowl LV win with the Buccaneers over the Chiefs.
Playoffs
Brady started 47 playoff games and walked off the field victorious in 35 of them -- both NFL records. He leads the world in postseason touchdown passes (86) and yards (13,049).
If that isn't enough, he also owns the most postseason completions (1,165), multi-TD passing games (28) and 300-yard passing games (18).
Fine, let's keep going. His 14 Conference Championship Game appearances are the most ever by a quarterback during the Super Bowl era, as are his 10 victories.
Brady has thrown three or more touchdowns in 13 of his playoff appearances, the most since the 1970 merger. His 27 multi-TD games in the postseason are the most ever as well.
The Rest Of The Best
Ready for all of Brady's passing records? These include postseason numbers as well:
- Most passing yards all-time with 96,969
- Most passing touchdowns with 707
- Most passing attempts (13,081) and completions (8,369)
- Most touchdowns thrown to different receivers at 92
- Most wins by any player (278)
Now let's take a look without playoff numbers:
- Most passing yards of all-time with 84,520
- Most passing touchdowns with 624
- Most passing attempts (11,317) and completions (7,263)
- Most wins by any player (243)
Despite leading the football world in passing yards and touchdown passes, Brady didn't throw too many passes to the other team. He is tied for 29th on the NFL all-time interception list.
But wait, there is more! So, so much more.
- Brady's three NFL MVP awards are tied for the second-most all-time, behind Peyton Manning's five MVP trophies. Brady was 40 years old when he won in 2017, the oldest player in NFL history to bring home the award.
- Brady has been named to 15 Pro Bowls (though he didn't usually play in them for obvious reasons), one of only five players in NFL history with that many Pro Bowl nods.
- Brady's 14.00 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2016 (when he tossed 28 touchdowns to just two interceptions) is an NFL single-season record. Brady's 3.07 touchdown-to-interception ratio for his career is fourth all-time behind Aaron Rodgers (4.83), Patrick Mahomes (4.08), and Russell Wilson (3.36).
- We're gonna talk about 2007 -- just not the end of it. That was the season Brady ripped up the record books, tossing a then-record 50 touchdowns passes and compiling 4,806 yards. He completed 68.9 percent of his passes and averaged 300 passing yards per game for the season. Brady and Randy Moss put on a clinic, connecting for a record 23 scores.
It didn't end the way anyone wanted it to, but it was one heck of an offensive display by Brady and company.
- Brady led the NFL in touchdown passes four times with the Patriots (2002, 07, 10, 15) and then again with the Buccaneers in his final season, tossing 43 touchdowns at the age of 44 in 2021. Those five seasons as the NFL's touchdown leader are the most ever by any quarterback.
Brady also led the NFL with 5,316 passing yards in 2021, making him the oldest quarterback to lead the league in passing yards.
- Brady shared the love like no one else. He hit 92 different players for a touchdown during his career, which is obviously an NFL Record.
- Wins. Brady won a lot of games. He is one of only four players in NFL history with at least one win over all 32 teams in the league.
Brady won more at home (133) than any other quarterback. And he won more on the road (110) than any other quarterback.
He had 13 straight 10-win seasons, and 12 straight 11-win seasons -- both NFL records. All those victories led to 19 division titles, the most ever by a starting QB.
So many wins for No. 12.