Tom Brady stats: Evaluating QB’s career by age, from start with Patriots to recent run with Buccaneers

How long has Tom Brady been dominating NFL defenses? Here’s a fun fact: The Buccaneers quarterback is older than every head coach he could face in the NFC playoff bracket. So yeah, he’s been doing this for a long time.

Brady has spent nearly half of his life playing professional football, yet he doesn’t appear to be slowing down at all. He is looking to capture back-to-back Super Bowls after coming off a season in which he led the league in passing yards and touchdowns. If not for Aaron Rodgers, he would have been the frontrunner for the MVP award.

Is this current version of Brady the best one we’ve ever seen? It may just be a matter of taste for fans of the seven-time Super Bowl champion. If you break his career down by age, he has three distinct stages that could each be considered Hall-of-Fame worthy.

MORE: Five keys to Super Bowl repeat for Buccaneers

Tom Brady age: How old is Buccaneers QB?

Brady is 44 years old, making him the oldest player in the NFL. He was born on Aug. 3, 1977, more than four years ahead of Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth, who is the second-oldest player in the league at age 40.

After playing four years of college football at Michigan, Brady was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He entered the league as a 23-year-old rookie, sitting behind Drew Bledsoe before becoming the starter during his sophomore campaign.

Tom Brady stats in his 20s (2000-06)

Brady never allowed Bledsoe to take back the starting job, of course, leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl in 2001 and back-to-back rings in 2003-04. In a different era of football, he didn’t post the kind of crazy passing numbers that now seem routine, but New England coach Bill Belichick did grow to trust Brady and let the offense flow through him as he hit his late 20s.

In his age 28 season (2005), Brady led the league in passing yards for the first time in his career, throwing for 4,110 yards. To put that in perspective, 4,110 yards wouldn’t have cracked the top 10 on this season’s leaderboard.

* Brady didn’t start in two of the 96 games played, so those games did not go on his record.

Tom Brady stats in his 30s (2007-2016)

This guy started off his 30s with a bang. In 2007, Brady threw for 4,806 yards and hit career-highs in completion percentage (68.9) and passing touchdowns (50). The Patriots’ offense looked unstoppable after New England acquired Randy Moss, who set the single-season record for receiving touchdowns (23). Unfortunately for the Pats, their dream season was ruined by the Giants in the Super Bowl.

Brady essentially missed the entirety of the 2008 season after suffering a serious knee injury in the season opener, but he eventually returned to his old form, winning the 2009 Comeback Player of the Year award. He capped off this stretch of his career by winning Super Bowls at age 37 (2014) and 39 (2016).

Tom Brady stats in his 40s (2017-2021)

No midlife crisis here. Brady led the NFL in passing yards (4,577) during his age 40 season (2017), earning Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro nods. He won the Super Bowl in 2018, capturing his final ring as a member of the Patriots.

Brady joined the Buccaneers in 2020, helping them win their first Super Bowl since 2003. He has been even better this season, as he threw for a career-high 5,316 yards to go with 43 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions on 719 pass attempts.

What will Brady do when he reaches his 50s? (Just kidding… maybe.)