It’s been 21 years since the New England Patriots selected Tom Brady with the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.
A lot has happened since then for Brady, now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and those developments were pointed out Friday on the anniversary of the former University of Michigan quarterback landing in Foxboro.
Brady played along by quote-tweeting Front Office Sports’ rundown of his accomplishments and adding: Big day. My NFL career can legally buy a beer
Get it? Because it’s been 21 years.
Good one, Tom.
Dad jokes aside, it has been a remarkable career for the greatest QB in NFL history. Not only does he own seven Super Bowl rings — six with the Pats, one with the Bucs — but he’s also still performing at an extremely high level despite turning 44 years old in August.
To think he was drafted in the sixth(!) round is absolutely incredible. No one could have guessed in that moment — not even Bill Belichick or Robert Kraft — what would transpire over the next two decades (and counting).
As Brady continues to delight Twitter on the heels of another championship, the Patriots probably aren’t laughing quite as much. They, of course, are tasked with replacing the GOAT, who signed with the Buccaneers in free agency last offseason. New England’s first season with Cam Newton under center didn’t go quite as planned, with the Patriots stumbling to a 7-9 finish in the AFC East.
Maybe the Pats will strike gold again in this year’s draft? There’s certainly been enough speculation about what New England should do later this month, particularly when it comes to the No. 15 overall pick.
Perhaps the Patriots will trade up for their next franchise signal-caller. Or perhaps they’ll stay put, potentially eyeing a quarterback later in the draft as they did with Brady in Round 6. Either way, New England can only hope its newest QB winds up cracking similar jokes 21 years from now.
Oh, by the way: Friday also marked Belichick’s 69th birthday. Happy birthday, Coach.
