New England Patriots great Tom Brady is already the most accomplished player in NFL history, but he still missed some opportunities along the way.
Over his legendary career, Tom Brady achieved more than any player could reasonably dream of.
Brady has an NFL-record seven Super Bowl rings to his name, more than any single NFL franchise. He led the New England Patriots to two separate dynasties over his 20-year tenure with the team, then won another ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to shut up anyone claiming he was a "system quarterback."
Even for all of Brady's accolades, he could have had even more if just a few more bounces went his way. His Patriots also lost three Super Bowls, to the New York Giants in 2007 and 2011 then the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.
More than a year since he hung up his cleats for good, Brady still thinks about what could've been in those three games.
"I'm not over any of the Super Bowl losses," Brady said on his Let's Go podcast. "I am still mad. Sixteen years later, in '07. I'm still mad, the 2011 Super Bowl, I'm still mad we lost to the [Philadelphia] Eagles.
"But no, you can't change the outcome and you gotta live with it. Part of being on the great stage is you have a great opportunity to win a ring. The opposite side of that coin is the most difficult loss of your career. Sometimes you've gotta risk a lot, which is a tough loss that you're gonna have to live with, in order to gain something that only one team can achieve."
All three of Brady's Super Bowl losses came by one score, so it's difficult to say which is the most-painful.
The 2007 loss to the Giants was the Patriots only loss all season, denying them the chance to go down as just the second undefeated team in NFL history behind the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The 2011 loss gave New England an unpleasant sense of Déjà vu, even down to a dramatic catch on New York's final drive. Finally, Brady played out of his mind with 505 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Eagles in 2017, only for his performance to go to waste due to an atrocious showing by the Patriots defense.
However, there is a small silver lining to the Patriots' losses: they inspired Brady to keep pushing as hard as he could.
"The only thing I would say from that is that every loss I was a part of motivated me to try harder and do better," Brady said. "And it gave me the perspective that when we did win again, as I did after a 10-year absence of not winning, I appreciated that win more than any other win in my career."
FAQs
Reflecting on his choice and the tough conversations with Belichick and Kraft, Brady says, "Life is very imperfect, and relationships are imperfect, but I'm very proud of our journey." An teary Brady then says, "It was hard, but, um, but it was great."
How many losses did Tom Brady have with the Patriots? ›
Tom Brady had a 219-66 record with the Patriots in his career.
Brady won a total of seven Super Bowls.
He won six with his old team, the New England Patriots, and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
What QB lost 3 Super Bowls? ›
Tom Brady and John Elway suffered three Super Bowl losses as well, though, they also picked up multiple rings. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will face in a highly anticipated Super Bowl LVIII matchup.
Why did Tom Brady want to leave the Patriots? ›
In the aforementioned documentary, Brady revealed that his reason for leaving the Patriots was due to his relationship with head coach Bill Belichick.
What did Tom Brady say about Belichick leaving Patriots? ›
"I could never have been the player I was without you Coach Belichick," Brady wrote in an Instagram post at the time. "I am forever grateful. And I wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose next."
How many Super Bowls did Patriots lose? ›
The New England Patriots have 5 losses in Super Bowls all-time.
| TEAM | OFF |
|---|
| 1 | Patriots | 123 |
| 2 | Patriots | 257 |
| 3 | Patriots | 267 |
| 4 | Patriots | 481 |
9 more rows(KNWA/KFTA) — For years, Tom Brady was the oldest active NFL player until his retirement in 2022. So, who's the oldest active NFL player now that Brady is out of the league? At age 41, Seattle Seahawk Jason Peters holds the title, according to Sports Illustrated. He'll turn 42 in January.
How old was Tom Brady when he won his third Super Bowl? ›
Tom Brady has won seven Super Bowls, six with the Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won his third Super Bowl with the Patriots at the age of 27 in 2005 and won three more with the Patriots at the ages of 37, 39 and 41.
Who has the most Super Bowls besides Tom Brady? ›
Mahomes has led the Chiefs to six consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances and four Super Bowl appearances since becoming the team's starting quarterback in 2018.
What quarterback has won the most Super Bowls? ›
Tom Brady
Brady is still the standard for quarterback play -- and will be for a long time. Brady won seven Super Bowl titles in his career, the most by any player in NFL history and more Super Bowl titles than any franchise.
Who lost 5 straight Super Bowls? ›
Gilbert played in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, and San Diego Chargers. He is the only player in NFL history to be on five consecutive Super Bowl teams, none of which won. Red Bluff, California, U.S.
What QB has beaten all 32 teams? ›
Four quarterbacks in NFL history have beaten all 32 teams: Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. Chiefs fans will hope that Mahomes retires a Chief and never joins that list.
Who lost 3 Super Bowls in a row? ›
Buffalo committed a Super Bowl-record 9 turnovers en route to a 52–17 loss, becoming the first team in NFL history to lose three consecutive Super Bowls.
What happened between Tom Brady and Belichick? ›
There's this one quote from Brady: "Me and Coach Belichick, you know, we did what we loved and we competed for 20 years together. But I wasn't gonna re-sign another contract, even if I wanted to play 'till 50. I knew that based on how things had gone, I wasn't gonna sign up for more of it."
What did Tom Brady do for the Patriots? ›
Tom Brady (born August 3, 1977, San Mateo, California, U.S.) is an American football quarterback who led his teams to a record seven Super Bowl victories (2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021) and was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP) five times (2002, 2004, 2015, 2017, and 2021).
Who did Tom Brady back up for the Patriots? ›
Following a period of declining success and two consecutive seasons in which the Patriots missed the playoffs, Bledsoe suffered a near-fatal injury early in the 2001 season that led to backup Tom Brady becoming the team's starter.
