Love him or hate him, you have to admit: He’s one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, and his stats prove it.
Tom Brady, who is now 43 and the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has six NFL championship rings, and he’ll be playing for his seventh this weekend, in Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs. (He’s also thrown more touchdown passes than any other player, made 14 Pro Bowls, earned three MVP awards and appeared in a record 10 Super Bowls, according to Sporting News. See what we meant about those stats speaking for him?)
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So, will Brady, who spent what feels like a lifetime at the helm of the New England Patriots, be able to win it all in the first year with his new team?
Or will young Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes be able to get it done on football’s biggest stage for the second year in a row?
Only time will tell.
For now, let’s go over five things you might not have known about Brady.
1. He wasn’t the college football superstar you might have imagined.
In fact, Brady was a backup at the University of Michigan for two years, and didn’t get the starting job until his junior season.
But he did get to prove his talent eventually, as the Wolverines went 20-5 under Brady as a starter. Michigan’s record was 10-3 in 1998 and 10-2 in 1999, according to the NCAA. But nothing was handed to Brady, who had to make his way up the ranks at U-M.
And then in the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady went 199th, six rounds in, with six quarterbacks being taken off the board before his name was called.
So, yes. You could say he was a true sleeper pick for the Patriots. 😉
2. He’s far from the only breadwinner in the house.
You might be thinking that, considering his NFL salary, Brady makes the bulk of the money for his family.
Well, he does earn a ton -- there’s no denying that. But Brady’s supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen brings in just as much, if not more.
In fact, Bundchen was paid about $45 million a year, with Brady earning $27 million over the same time period, according to a CBS News story sourcing Forbes.
This website says Bundchen’s net worth is higher, too.
We’re not sure if those CBS numbers are current, or include endorsement deals, or what the exact breakdown looks like, but needless to say, both parties are set for life (understatement of the century), and earn a ton for their family.
3. His diet is very, very specific.
Well, you don’t get this good at football -- and sustain this level of professional talent -- by sitting around and eating a sloppy diet. No, Brady is extremely food-conscious.
The Tom Brady Diet, also called the TB12 Method, is pretty restrictive and looks hard to maintain over time, but it seems to work for him.
On TB12, you can’t have dairy, coffee, white sugar, white flour, peppers, mushrooms, eggplants, tomatoes or most fruits.
Why the ban on things like tomatoes, mushrooms and eggplants, you ask? Those foods are thought to be acidic or inflammatory. Read more about it on HealthLine.
4. He fell asleep in the locker room before his first Super Bowl.
Wait, what?
It’s true.
Back in 2001, Brady got his first start for the Patriots, filling in for a hurt Drew Bledsoe, and he led the team to the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams, according to Business Insider.
“Brady recounted in an NFL Films documentary later on that before the game, he took his shoulder pads off and laid down in front of his locker. He noted that the Super Bowl is unusual because everything is extended, so pregame is longer than usual. He ended up falling asleep at his locker,” the article said.
He dozed off for only about 20 to 30 minutes, woke up, and it was almost game time. He changed, put his pads back on with 12 minutes to spare, and his team took the field. The Patriots won, by the way, so maybe power naps really do pay off.
5. Brady has three children.
Although he keeps his family life fairly private, Brady and Bunchen have two children together, Benny and Vivian, and Brady shares another son, John (better known as Jack) with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.
Jack was born in 2007. The actress’s pregnancy was reported after she and Brady ended their three-year relationship. Brady started dating Bundchen a short time later.
Here are some photos:
Did you learn a thing or two, or did you know all of this? Weigh in using the comments.