Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time, and it’s not even close.

Before Brady Was Brady

Brady grew up as a two-sport athlete, playing both baseball and football until he left for college. He was actually taken in the 18th round of the MLB Draft upon graduation, but decided to forego an attempt at playing professional baseball in favor of attending college at the University of Michigan on a football scholarship. 

When Brady arrived at Michigan, he was the seventh quarterback on the depth chart. Eventually he fought his way up the roster and ended up starting in 25 games during his junior and senior years, posting a 20-5 overall record.

His unprecedented dominance of the National Football League is all the more impressive when considering that he entered the league as an overlooked and out-of-shape prospect.

He wasn’t drafted until the sixth round, when the New England Patriots selected him with the 199th pick in the year 2000. 

Ushering In A New Era

Brady arrived in New England as a backup to Drew Bledsoe, the former number one overall pick from Washington State. During his rookie season, he hardly saw any action on the field.

The following year, Drew Bledsoe was injured in the Patriots’ second game of the season. Brady was sent in to relieve Bledsoe, and the rest is history. 

The Patriots ended up winning the Super Bowl in that first season under Brady, and they never looked back. 

A Dynasty In The Making

The Patriots missed the playoffs the year after that first Super Bowl win, but won back-to-back titles in the following years.

Brady has remained the team’s starting quarterback since the Bledsoe injury, and in the meantime, the New England Patriots have become one of the most dominant franchises in the history of professional sports. 

The Patriots have won 77 percent of the regular season games in which Brady has started, including an undefeated regular season in 2007 in which Brady set then NFL records for passing touchdowns and touchdown-to-interception radio. 

He has appeared in six Super Bowls, which is more than any other quarterback in NFL history, and has won four of them, which places him in a three-way tie with Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for most all time.

He has the most wins and touchdown passes in NFL history, and also the most touchdown passes in Super Bowl history. 

He has also won two regular season MVP awards and three Super Bowl MVP’s.

The Other Side of the Game

Brady is a player that appreciates the mental side of the game as much as the physical. 

He understands that his success goes hand-in-hand with his own personal development, and he has acknowledged this fact through the actions he has taken over his career.

When he arrived at Michigan and was struggling to get time on the field, he actually hired a sports psychologist to help him with his confidence and mindset. 

He credits a book on mindset, “The Four Agreements,” for helping him through some turbulent times in his life, namely that of the Deflategate scandal that led to a four game suspension for the beginning of the 2016 season. 

Following his suspension, Brady has won his first four starts of 2016, and at the age of 39, is looking better than ever. 

“To me, football is so much about mental toughness, it’s digging deep, it’s doing whatever you need to do to help a team win and that comes in a lot of shapes and forms,” Brady said, when asked about his mentality.