Facts About Super Bowl Ring Hoarder Tom Brady

Folks, we aren’t going to lie. We expected to be writing an article about all-world superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes in honor of his leading the Kansas City Chiefs to their second consecutive Super Bowl title. Boy were we going to gush! But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by newly-acquired QB legend Tom Brady, had other ideas. After being New England’s primary starter for 18 seasons and leading them to the Super Bowl in half of them (winning 6), Brady decided to move on, signing a 2 year/$50 million contract with the Bucs. Although most NFL pundits predicted the Bucs would go something like 11-5 — which is precisely how they ended up doing — nobody had them actually making the Super Bowl, much less winning it. But that’s exactly what happened. Brady and Co. took the Chiefs to the woodshed, winning 31-9 and securing Brady his 7th Super Bowl ring. Already considered the greatest quarterback of all time going into the season, this only solidified his status. Here are some facts to know about the GOAT.

1. Brady wasn’t initially good enough to start on his high school’s sucky junior varsity football team

Tom’s football career at Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California got off to a rough start. The backup on the JV team, the Padres went 0-8 and failed to score a touchdown the entire season. But after the starting QB got injured during Brady’s junior year, he took over and remained the starter for the rest of his HS career.

2. He was almost a California Golden Bear

After visiting the University of California-Berkeley, not far from his home, he made a silent commitment to sign with the Golden Bears. All that stood in the way was a visit to the University of Michigan. The coaches at UC reluctantly allowed him to take the trip to Michigan, feeling confident that they’d win out. Oops. Brady would sign with UM. The other colleges that had made his final cut before choosing the Wolverines were USC, UCLA and Illinois.

3. A career in finance was his backup plan

During the summers of 1998 and 1999, Brady was an intern at Merrill Lynch, with aspirations of becoming a stockbroker if a professional football career didn’t pan out. Playing for a major college program is a pretty big deal, but even the best players have to be realistic about their chances. The fact is, fewer than 2% of college football players ever play in the pros for any amount of time.