Tom Brady inducted into Patriots Corridor of Fame, No. 12 retired

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In a sold-out ceremony in entrance of greater than 60,000 followers at Gillette Stadium, Tom Brady was inducted into the New England Patriots Corridor of Fame on Wednesday evening, with proprietor Robert Kraft saying that his No. 12 jersey won’t ever be worn once more in New England.

As well as, Kraft stated a statue of Brady measuring 12 toes tall might be unveiled in the course of the 2024 season, one thing the franchise has by no means achieved earlier than.

“Our aim was to create a once-in-a-lifetime ceremony for a one-in-a-kind participant. I hope we completed that aim with a couple of firsts,” Kraft stated.

Brady capped off the three-hour program with a rousing speech that was at occasions fiery, emotional, inspirational and humorous. He known as it a “monumental second” in his life, expressed his because of Kraft and concluded by saying: “I’m eternally grateful. I’m Tom Brady. And I’m a Patriot.”

Brady’s 20 years with the franchise from 2000 to 2019 produced six Tremendous Bowl championships and 17 AFC East titles earlier than he completed his profession taking part in three seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, profitable one other Tremendous Bowl.

Greater than 100 of his teammates and former coaches attended the Corridor of Fame ceremony, together with Invoice Belichick, which marked the primary time Belichick was again at Gillette Stadium since he and the Patriots parted methods in January after 24 seasons.

Brady famous the presence of Belichick, who was one of many evening’s featured audio system and acquired a thunderous ovation.

.@TomBrady within the purple jacket 😍 pic.twitter.com/ARsJbZzMdt

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 13, 2024

“Thanks in your tireless dedication to develop and push me to be my best possible. It wasn’t me, it wasn’t you, it was us,” Brady stated. “Let me make this crystal clear — there is no such thing as a coach on the earth I’d quite play for than Invoice Belichick.”

Belichick had concluded his remarks with an identical message for Brady.

“Thanks for all that you’ve got achieved for us. Thanks for all you have achieved for me. And thanks for the instance and mannequin that you’ve got been for all of us, every day, for 20 years,” Belichick stated. “You are unbelievable.”

The evening included a couple of surprises for Brady, together with the presence of his longtime rival Peyton Manning, who insisted that he ship his remarks in particular person after noting that Brady was there for him at his Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame induction in 2021.

Singer Kenny Chesney was available to carry out a reside model of his tune “The Boys of Fall” and rapper Jay-Z sang “Public Service Announcement” — the tune that performed when Brady took the sector in the course of the second half of his Patriots profession.

Brady’s dad and mom, sisters and prolonged household have been all in attendance, and Brady usually confirmed his feelings when mentioning them all through the evening.

“It’s so troublesome to place into phrases what this evening means to me and our total household,” he stated.