At 43-years-old, Tom Brady is once again a Super Bowl champion.
After a disappointing exit in the Playoffs with the Patriots last year, it seemed the bloom was finally off the rose for the quarterback. After 20 seasons with New England and his coach Bill Belichick, winning record six Super Bowls and playing in another three, he felt it was time to move on. Most of us assumed we would see sparks of genius, but ultimately the season would fizzle out, with Brady spending a pre-retirement year in Florida. After all, the league had a new star. Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs had taken over. There wasn't room for Tom Brady anymore.
Instead, he led the previously tragic Tampa Bay Buccaneers from nowhere to Super Bowl glory.
For context, the Buccs hadn't even made the Playoffs since 2007. The last time they did, in 2007, they lost to the Giants in the first round. Tom Brady would also lose to the same team in the Super Bowl that year, having led the Patriots to a 16-0 regular season. It was a long time ago. Since then, Brady played in the playoffs another 11 seasons with the Patriots, and played in another five Super Bowls, winning three.
Now, in his first season with the Buccs, they've won the Super Bowl, and the Patriots didn't make the Playoffs.
Congratulations to the greatest of all time.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 8, 2021
Hammering the NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs, along with a clearly injury hampered Mahomes last night, Brady picked up a 5th Super Bowl MVP awards, just one of an insane amount of record he broke last night, many of which were his own anyway.
Tom Brady Records Broke in Super Bowl 55:
- 7 Super Bowls: More than not only any other NFL player, but more than any one NFL franchise!
7 - Tom Brady
6 - New England Patriots
6 - Pittsburgh Steelers
5 - Dallas Cowboys
5 - San Francisco 49ers@TomBrady has more Super Bowl wins than any NFL franchise. pic.twitter.com/RDXQgMLVwg— NFL UK (@NFLUK) February 8, 2021
- 10 Super Bowl appearances: Another record he already held. Brady has had a 21 year NFL career. He didn't play in his rookie season, and missed all but one quarter of the 2008 season with injury. Bearing that in mind, he has played in the Super Bowl in over 50% of his relevant NFL seasons. Nobody else has appeared in more than six games.
- 5 Super Bowl MVP awards
- Oldest player to win/play in a Super Bowl: Brady was already the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl after his sixth ring with the Pats two years ago, but now he's pushed it on. Last night, he became the oldest player to even play in the game, not just at quarterback, but in any position.
- 21 Super Bowl Touchdown Passes: His three touchdown passes last night push Brady to 11 ahead of his nearest competitor in this regard, the legendary Joe Montana, who has 11. Brady also has massive, massive leads in Super Bowl pass completions, yards, and attempts (he has 421 pass attempts. Next on the list is Peyton Manning with 155!)
- 14 QB/Receiver Playoff Touchdown Connections, with Rob Gronkowski: Gronk came out of retirement to play with Brady again. And it worked out. He broke a record of his own, becoming the first player to make a catch in five Super Bowls, and his first touchdown secured the pair's record of most Playoffs touchdowns, beating the greatest combo of all time, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Of course, they would add a second later on just to seal it.
Tom Brady throwing TD passes to Gronk in the #SuperBowl
Some things never change.@Buccaneers. pic.twitter.com/roTr9f02Ye— NFL UK (@NFLUK) February 8, 2021
- 34 Playoff wins: The next on the list is again Montana, with 16.
And he's not done. Brady will be 44 for the 2021 season, and he's vowed to go again. Who's to say we're not adding one to each of these records next year.
SEE ALSO: Tom Brady Is Back In Super Bowl: How The Hell Does This Keep Happening?
