Following 23 seasons and seven Super Bowl championships, as well as a year of planning, it’s here.
The New England Patriots are set to honor one of the game’s greatest players, Tom Brady, on June 12 at Foxboro with a sold-out crowd.
Brady will become the 35th player inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame and Patriots owner Robert Kraft says there will be “outstanding, surprise guests” in attendance, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
But one attendee stands out from the crowd: Bill Belichick.
On January 11, after 24 years with the Patriots, Belichick and the team parted ways.
The reason?
Kraft told ESPN at the time, “We’re looking for someone who can help us get back to the playoffs and win.”
Brady, Kraft and Belichick were the three leading pioneers in the Patriots’ reign from 2000 to 2019, but the relationship was not always smooth sailing.
In 2020, Brady finished a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In an Apple TV+ documentary, he revealed that his decision was based on how things were going between Belichick and himself.
The documentary describes the conditions under Belichick as “brutal.”
Despite Brady and Belichick’s departure from New England, it should not take away the havoc the tandem wreaked.
They took over the league, and Kraft attested to that himself.
“What Bill accomplished, in my opinion, will never be duplicated,” he told ESPN.
After Belichick drafted Brady with the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, the two went on and reached immaculate heights.
They captured 17 division titles and six Super Bowl championships, which is more than 30 other franchises have all-time.
Together, they changed the game and raised the bar for what it means to dominate the league.
Despite the tensions between Kraft, Belichick and Brady that sparked change, there is also mutual respect.
The three will reunite for Brady’s reunion, leaving any bad blood in the past for the day.
Brady showed what it meant to have an unprecedented devotion to the process and game. He was named the league’s MVP five times as a quarterback: In 2002, 2004, 2015, 2017 and 2021.
He leads the NFL in career passing yards, attempts and touchdown passes for the regular season and playoffs.
In Brady’s time as a Buccaneer he claimed another Super Bowl (LV).
By 2022, Brady had announced that he was ready to retire, but that only lasted 40 days.
He played until 2023 before he would once again announce his retirement.
This time, it would be for good.
Now, in 2024, the Patriots are ready to honor him.
Normally, players would have to wait before their legacy is celebrated, but Kraft came forward in September waiving that timeframe for Brady – and announcing the retirement of Brady’s No. 12.