Tom Brady pokes fun at rival Jets in statue unveiling ceremony speech

Retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady returned Friday to Foxborough, Massachusetts, the place where he spent two decades of his storied career. 

Brady was on hand for a statue-unveiling ceremony before the New England Patriots opened their 2025 preseason slate, dropping the curtain on a 12-foot bronze statue in Brady’s likeness. 

The statue honoring the seven-time Super Bowl winner was placed near the entrance of the team’s Hall of Fame at Patriot Place, which sits just beyond Gillette Stadium’s entry gates.

Brady became the first player in franchise history to be honored with a statue. Longtime Patriots team owner Robert Kraft commissioned the sculpture. 

“Tommy, you have not only etched your name in NFL history. You’ve etched it in all our hearts,” Kraft said in remarks during the ceremony. “And now your likeness will forever stand tall here at Gillette Stadium, just like you did — standing tall, poised and laser-focused. People may forget what’s said tonight, but may this statue forever remind us what Tom Brady did and how he made us all feel.”

The towering statue depicts Brady’s trademark celebratory pose with his fist raised. The pose is not believed to be a nod to any specific moment in Brady’s 20-year run with the team.

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The facial design appeared to depict a keenly focused Brady, which is an expression he frequently had when he was playing in an NFL game.

During his speech, Brady took a moment to give credit to his teammates, some of whom were in the audience for the former quarterback’s special day.

“Look, I know what this statue represents. It’s not about one guy. It never is, it never has been,” Brady said. “And, in football, it never will be. It’s about a team and a commitment to being great together.”

Brady also couldn’t resist taking a jab at the New York Jets, one of the Patriots’ longtime AFC East rivals.

“In the end, this statue isn’t just for Pats fans,” Brady noted. “It will also give all the Jets fans something to throw their beers at as they leave the stadium every year, probably in the second quarter, maybe the third.”

Brady is by far the most accomplished player to have worn a Patriots uniform. He won six of his seven Super Bowl titles with the team.

Brady spent the final three seasons of his storied career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning one more championship with the team. He returned to New England in June 2024 for his Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony. 

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