How long did Tom Brady play? When was he drafted?

It’s all over for Tom Brady at the age of 45 (we think it’s for real this time). The California native will go down in history as one of the greatest quarterbacks - and indeed NFL players - of all-time, having broken all kinds of records in the sport. But even the very greatest have to start somewhere and are relative unknowns when they first get going.

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Would many have predicted that Brady would go on to have the career he had when he was backup quarterback at the University of Michigan back in the 1990s? He later became their starting quarterback for two years and posted some decent but unspectacular numbers in college football, so much so that he wasn’t especially high up on the radar of professional scouts and team managers.

That was reflected in the 2000 NFL Draft as Brady was made to wait until the sixth round – by which time there was hardly anybody still watching – and saw six other quarterbacks picked ahead of him. Eventually, he was chosen as the 199th pick for the New England Patriots, for whom initially he acted as back-up to then-starter Drew Blesdoe.

How long did Brady play for?

The rest, as they say, is history. In just his second season with the Patriots in 2001 – and his first as a starter – they won the Super Bowl for the first time in their history, which kicked off a period of sustained success with Brady at the heart of it. He won the Super Bowl a further five times with the Pats before leaving to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, with whom he triumphed for the seventh and last time in his first year on the roster.

In his 23-year career, Brady, as well as holding the record for most Super Bowl titles of any player, also had the highest number of Super Bowl starts (10) and was named Super Bowl MVP on a record five occasions. On an individual level, he is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns, in both the regular season and postseason. He’s come a long way from Michigan.