FOX Sports Research
There might not be a better résumé in all of sports than Tom Brady's.
We previously listed a collection of his accomplishments as No. 2 on our most unbreakable records in sports list. But there are still so many under his belt that go beyond the surface of being the NFL's all-time leader in pass yards, pass touchdowns, completions, games started, game-winning drives, fourth-quarter comebacks and Pro Bowl selections.
While some on this list might come as no surprise, most of them will make you read twice. Brady's longevity — coupled with his undeniable success and statistical prowess — makes his career truly jaw-dropping. So without further ado, we've broken down the 10 best Tom Brady records of all time.
Let's take a look:
ADVERTISEMENT
The 10 best Tom Brady records
10. Regular-season wins: 251
No quarterback in NFL history has more regular-season wins than Brady with 251. In fact, he is the only signal-caller ever to eclipse the 200-win mark in the category, with Peyton Manning and Brett Favre tied for the second-most with 186. Among active quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers (153) and Russell Wilson (121) have the most — with no shot at catching Brady. The only player with a true shot is Patrick Mahomes, who has 89 wins at the conclusion of the 2024 season. In his seven seasons as a starter, Mahomes has averaged 12.7 wins per season, which means it would still take him approximately another 13 seasons to pass TB12 at that rate. He'd be 42 years old at that point.
And if breaking it down from a player perspective wasn't impressive enough, Brady's record of 251 wins is more than the Panthers (219), Jaguars (202) and Texans (162) have as franchises.
9. First player to win NFL championships in three different decades
A large part of what made Brady's career special was how incredible he was toward the latter part of his career. His first Super Bowl title came in just his second year in the NFL (and first as a starter) in the 2001 campaign. He went on to win two more in the 2000s, going back-to-back in 2003 and 2004. While he had to wait a bit for his next championships, they came in rapid fire again — with Brady leading New England to Super Bowl wins in the 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons.
And the cherry on top came in 2020, when he guided Tampa Bay to its second Super Bowl title, giving him his seventh and final ring. But what's the nugget here? With that Buccaneers title, he became the first player in NFL history to win championships in three different decades.
8. Oldest player to win regular-season MVP and championship round MVP in NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB history
In his 18th NFL season, Brady took home his third MVP award — coming at 40 years old. That made him the oldest player in NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL history to win the league MVP award. The only other 40-year-old to win MVP in those four leagues all-time is Barry Bonds, who did so in 2004. And then when you add the fact that Brady won Super Bowl MVP in his first season with the Buccaneers, he also is the oldest player to win a championship round MVP in NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL history — doing so at a whopping 43 years old.
7. Consecutive seasons with 10+ wins: 13
This record should really be much higher than 13 straight seasons with at least 10+ wins, but unfortunately, Brady only played in one game in 2008 due to a season-ending injury. If you exclude that year, Brady won at least 10 games in every season from 2003 to 2021 — an astonishing 18 consecutive seasons achieving double-digit wins. But alas, the 2008 season counts as he did play a game, which puts his streak at 13 from 2009 to 2021. Even so, that run of 13 is still the longest such streak since 1950, when quarterback starts were first tracked by the NFL.
The next-closest streak comes from Peyton Manning, who had 12 consecutive seasons with 10+ wins from 2002 to 2014 (the 2011 season doesn't count because Manning didn't start any games while sitting out the entire year with a neck injury). If you break it down from a franchise perspective, only two teams have ever had 13+ consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins: the Patriots with 17 straight from 2003 to 2019 (which of course came under Brady's command for 16 of those seasons) and the 49ers with 16 straight from 1983 to 1998.
6. First player in NFL history to win multiple titles after turning 40
A common theme as we dissect each record is that Brady's longevity is simply unparalleled. In the 2018 season, Brady led the Patriots to the Super Bowl at 41 years old by the time of the game on Feb. 3, 2019. New England would win 13-3, and then in the 2020 season, he'd go on to join the Buccaneers at age 43. Despite having spent the first 20 seasons of his career in New England, TB12 won the Super Bowl in his first year in Tampa Bay, giving him his second championship after the age of 40. This made him the first player in NFL history to win multiple titles after turning 40 years old.
Brady is also just one of three quarterbacks ever to win a Super Bowl in his first season with a team, joining Trent Dilfer (2000) and Matthew Stafford (2021). He's also the first quarterback ever to start a Super Bowl win for teams in both the NFC and AFC.
5. Consecutive seasons with a winning record: 20
Earlier we mentioned that Brady rattled off 13 consecutive seasons with 10+ wins. But if you look at just seasons above .500, TB12 logged 20 straight seasons with a winning record from 2001 to 2022. This excludes the 2008 season, when he finished 1-0 before sitting out the rest of the season due to injury (which some might say counts and puts him at 21 straight seasons above .500). Still, we'll throw the asterisk of having needed to start in multiple games in a season to count toward the streak.
That means in every year of his career when starting multiple games, he finished with a winning record in all but one: his final season in 2022, in which the Buccaneers finished 8-9 and still won the NFC South. That is the longest streak of consecutive winning seasons by a quarterback since 1950. The next-closest streak was Peyton Manning, with 13 consecutive seasons from 2002 to 2015.
When comparing Brady to teams, only five franchises have recorded 15+ consecutive seasons with a winning record: the Patriots (2001-19, with Brady), 49ers (1983-98), Raiders (1965-80), Bears (1930-44) and Cowboys, the only team that has reached 20 (1966-85).
4. Division titles: 19
The AFC East ran through Brady for two decades, and the NFC South was also his to claim in his short stint with Tampa. In his 21 seasons as a starter, Brady won his division title a staggering 19 times. The only years in which he didn't take home the division crown were in 2002 and 2020. For perspective, his 19 division titles are more than all but five franchises in the Super Bowl era: the Cowboys (26), Steelers (24), 49ers (22), Patriots (21) and Vikings (21).
3. Touchdowns thrown to different receivers: 98
This is an amazing stat, as no other quarterback has even come close to Brady in this category. TB12 threw a touchdown to a whopping 98 different receivers, with the next-closest being Drew Brees (74). Russell Wilson and Vinny Testaverde follow with 70 each, trailed by Joe Flacco with 67. Brady's favorite target was none other than Rob Gronkowski, as the two connected for 105 receiving touchdowns — the second-most by a quarterback-receiver duo ever (regular season and playoffs combined). The two hooked up for five touchdowns and 364 receiving yards in the Super Bowl, both of which are the most of any quarterback-receiver pair in Super Bowl history.
2. Playoff wins: 35
Brady has 35 career playoff wins, which is not only the most of any player, but also more than 27 of the 32 NFL franchises. The only teams with more are the 49ers (38), Patriots (37), Packers (37), Steelers (36) and Cowboys (36). Mahomes has the best shot at catching Brady, as he currently has 17 postseason wins and could get his 18th with a win in Super Bowl LIX. Mahomes' 17 are also the second-most of any quarterback in NFL history.
1. Super Bowl rings: 7
While this might be the most well-known stat or accolade in Brady's career, it doesn't take away from the fact that it's absolutely bonkers. Brady won seven Super Bowl titles, which is not only the most of any player in NFL history, but also more than every other franchise. Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw are the quarterbacks with the next-most Super Bowls wins, with four each. The Steelers and Patriots have six each, with the latter obviously being due to Brady.
Brady also has five Super Bowl MVPs, the most of any player since the game's conception in 1967.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.
recommended
