Tom Brady Enshrined Into Patriots Hall Of Fame During Star-Studded Night

Foxborough, Massachusetts: Over his two-decade tenure with the New England Patriots, Tom Brady provided the squad with many memories and six Super Bowl rings.

His admission into the Patriots Hall of Fame was celebrated like the team had never done.

On Wednesday night, thousands of fans and celebrities, including Jay-Z and Bon Jovi, joined dozens of Brady’s former teammates and coaches from several eras of Patriots history to honor Brady as the 35th individual inducted into the team’s hall.

Patriots, it’s fantastic to be home, Brady declared.

Tom Brady | AP News Image

Tom Brady Enshrined Into Patriots Hall Of Fame During Star-Studded Night

Team owner Robert Kraft moved Brady to tears before he spoke when he declared that no other Patriots player would ever wear his number 12.

“The No. 12 is now formally retired,” Kraft declared.

Kraft further disclosed that a 12-foot bronze monument of Brady was being commissioned and would be unveiled outside the Patriots Hall of Fame later this year.

The highlight of a night that resembled a Patriots family reunion was former Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s meeting with Brady before his speech. Belichick, who left the team following the 2023 season, received a standing ovation.

“To draft Tom and coach him for 20 years was an incredible honor for me,” Belichick told the assembled. Being a part of everything he contributed to the team was truly an honor for me.

Brady added his voice to the never-ending discussion over who was more accountable for the Patriots’ success as teammates.

Not me, that is for sure. Not you, that is. The culprits were us, Brady claimed. Let me clarify this. I prefer playing for Bill Belichick than for any other coach.

The red carpet that opened the event represented Brady’s 20 years with the Patriots. It included Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Randy Moss, Vince Wilfork, Drew Bledsoe, and Rob Gronkowski. The event also comprised Galynn Brady and Tom Sr. Brady.

Rapper Jay-Z opened the formal celebration inside Gillette Stadium with a smoke-filled rendition of his 2003 ‘Public Service Announcement’, which Brady had used as his entrance song when he had jogged onto the pitch to warm up before games.

This evening, Brady emerged from close to the stage at the conclusion of Jay-Z’s performance, passing through the area set aside for the special guests before settling in on stage.

Tom Brady | AP News Image

Tom Brady Enshrined Into Patriots Hall Of Fame During Star-Studded Night

There, he viewed video tributes from Jason Taylor, Charles Woodson, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and other rivals over the years. Fans who still remember how the Giants stunned the Patriots in the 2007 Super Bowl and ruined their hopes for a perfect season also made video cameos. Michael Strahan and Eli Manning were among them. In the 2011 Super Bowl, they upended Brady and company once more.

Matt Damon and Red Sox legend David Ortiz were among the well-known Bostonians who made cameos in other videos.

With his second season with New England, Brady, the No. 199 pick in the 2000 draft, took over as starter after Bledsoe, the previous No. 1 overall pick, was injured. Brady helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl that same year. Over the following twenty years, he took home five more championships.

Reunited with Brady, Bledsoe made light of the fact that Brady disregarded the first rule as a backup.

“You were the worst backup quarterback in NFL history,” Bledsoe replied. You never understood that you were meant to sit back down when I got well.

Moments were poignant, such as when Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Gronkowski, and Moss—some of Brady’s best playmakers—joined him on stage.

Moss was crying as the audience gave him a two-minute standing ovation. Moss said he knew he had to be around Brady when he got to New England in 2007.

“Put my locker beside Tom Brady’s and the rest will take care of itself,” Moss declared.

Surprising in-person visitors included Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who sat down with Brady and the evening’s host, Mike Tirico, to discuss the quarterbacks’ past on-field arguments.

When his teams played Brady, Manning said, he never wrote the Patriots off, particularly when Brady had the ball and a chance to win late in games.

I was praying from the sidelines, Manning said. I never offer any prayers while watching.

Brady also praised Manning and dubbed him one of his closest friends. He mentioned how he had watched Manning from high school onwards throughout his career as a young quarterback.

Tom Brady | AP News Image

Tom Brady Enshrined Into Patriots Hall Of Fame During Star-Studded Night

Brady declared, “Nobody in the world is as good as Peyton Manning right now.”

Manning even cracked some of his classic banter to the applause of a frequently hostile New England audience when he said, “They like me here because I usually lose here.”

Brady declared his family, and the Patriots would always be linked in front of a crowd drenched in his No. 12 jersey.

Brady stated, “I feel like we’re still the family trying to love each other.” Adopted New Englanders, that is us.

At one point, Brady enumerated the towns he had lived in while playing for the Patriots in New England, starting with Franklin and ending with Brookline.

Brady shed tears as he finished his address.

Thomas Brady is my name. Furthermore, I identify as a Patriot,” he declared.

SOURCE – (AP)