Tom Brady enshrined into Patriots Hall of Fame

FOXBORO, Mass. (WPRI) — The New England Patriots paid tribute Wednesday night to an already legendary figure in the team’s history: Tom Brady.

Brady was officially enshrined in the team’s Hall of Fame. For the first time, the ceremony was held right on the field at Gillette Stadium, in front of a sold-out crowd.

Normally, players have to wait four years before becoming eligible to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, but owner Robert Kraft announced last summer that the team would be making an exception for Brady.

The Patriots scheduled the event for 6/12 to commemorate the number of Super Bowls that Brady won in New England paired with his jersey number.

Dozens of Brady’s former teammates were in attendance, including Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Ty Law, Drew Beldsoe, Randy Moss and James White.

Brady, who was the No. 199 pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, became the Patriots’ starting quarterback after Bledsoe took a hard hit and suffered a significant injury at the start of the 2001 season. He led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl championship that same season, followed by five more titles over the next two decades.

Bledsoe quipped that Brady broke the No. 1 rule of being a backup quarterback.

“You were the worst backup quarterback in the history of the NFL,” Bledsoe joked. “You never understood that, when I got healthy, you were supposed to go sit back down.”

Moss was brought to tears by the crowd, which gave him a lengthy standing ovation before he could finish answering a question about their record-breaking 2007 season. (That season, Brady threw 50 touchdown passes, of which Moss caught 23.)

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Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, one of Brady’s biggest rivals, surprised him on stage and told stories of what it was like to play against him.

“I was praying on the sidelines,” Manning said. “I never pray on the sidelines.”

Unlike his brother Eli Manning, whose prerecorded video message congratulating Brady was met with boos from the crowd, Peyton received several standing ovations.

“They like me here because I always lost here,” lamented Peyton, who retired back in 2016.

Bill Belichick, who coached Brady throughout his entire career with the Patriots, took the stage to reflect on his relationship with the NFL great. Belichick could barely get started, however, as the crowd roared with applause.

“It was a tremendous honor for me to draft Tom and coach Tom for 20 years,” Belichick told the crowd. “Everything he brought to the team, it was really an honor for me to be involved with that.”

Kraft then officially retired Brady’s jersey number, making him the eighth Patriots player to receive that honor and the first in 24 years.

“There’s only one iconic number that will always represent Tom Brady,” Kraft said. “I promise it will never be worn again.”

Kraft also announced that a 12-foot-tall bronze sculpture of Brady will be unveiled outside the Hall of Fame later this year.

“Our goal was to create a once in a lifetime ceremony for a one of a kind player,” Kraft said before formally declaring him the 35th player to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame and helping him into his honorary red jacket.

Brady rounded out the night with an impassioned speech, during which he expressed his gratitude for everyone who’s supported him throughout his entire career.

“I am eternally grateful,” he told the crowd. “I am Tom Brady, and I am a Patriot.”