These days, it’s hard to imagine a figure more synonymous with the NFL than retired quarterback great Tom Brady; although some of you out there will probably make an argument for Joe Montana and Patrick Mahomes II.
Boasting an impressive sporting resume populated by multiple championship titles, MVP awards, and so forth, the GOAT’s trophy cabinet was practically heaving by the time he earned his seventh Super Bowl victory back in 2021; on that occasion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But once upon a time, long before all the achievements, Tom Brady was greatly uncertain of his future in professional football — to the point that he was forced to put together a completely different kind of resume.
After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1999, Brady found himself being overlooked in favour of other NFL prospects. Preparing for a potential life of clocking in from nine to give like the rest of us chumps, as revealed in the 2011 documentary The Brady 6, his backup plan apparently entailed selling insurance.
That very summer, Tom Brady had interned at Merrill Lynch; previous to that, he’d worked as both a sales representative and assistant club manager at the University of Michigan Golf Course.
During the 2000 NFL Draft, it almost seemed as though Tom Brady would actually be needing said resume. He wouldn’t be selected until the sixth round as the 199th overall pick by the New England Patriots — something which has since been acknowledged as the league’s most egregious oversight in this regard.
Incidentally, the 2000 NFL Draft’s first-round pick Courtney Brown (defensive end) is now widely regarded as the biggest draft bust ever experienced by the Cleveland Browns franchise.
“Found my old resume!” Brady posted to Facebook back in 2014.
“Really thought I was going to need this after the 5th round. #tbt“
Check it out for yourself below.
Tom Brady entered retirement with the following enviable career numbers:
- 23 NFL seasons (20 for the New England Patriots, three for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- 251 career regular-season wins (most in NFL history)
- 35 career playoff wins, 19 more than any other QB (Joe Montana was second with 16)
- 10 Super Bowl appearances & seven wins (most in NFL history)
- Five-time Super Bowl MVP (most in NFL history)
- Three-time NFL MVP (2007, 2010, 2017)
- 649 touchdown passes (most in NFL history)
- 89,214 passing yards (most in NFL history)
- 98 different players caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady (most in NFL history)
- First player to win NFL championships in three different decades
- First QB to start a Super Bowl win for a team in both conferences
- Second QB to win Super Bowl in first season with team (Trent Dilfer was the first in 2000)
- Tom Brady has more Super Bowl wins than any franchise all-time (New England Patriots & Pittsburgh Steelers have six each, San Francisco 49ers & Dallas Cowboys have five each)
