'''Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr.''' (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the National Football League's New England Patriots.
Brady graduated from Junípero Serra High School, the same school that produced baseball player Barry Bonds and NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann. Brady attended the University of Michigan and led Michigan to an Orange Bowl victory in the 1999 season. In the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady was selected by the New England Patriots in the 6th round (199th overall). Brady has won three Super Bowls as part of the Patriots team and two Super Bowl MVP awards. Additionally, Brady was one of ''People Magazine's'' 50 Most Beautiful People in 2002 and ''Sports Illustrated's'' Sportsman of the Year in 2005. Though only in the beginning of his career, many consider Brady to already be a future Hall of Famer.
Early years
Born in San Mateo, California, Brady would be regularly taken to see the 49ers play in the 1980s, where he became a fan of quarterback Joe Montana. Since that time, Brady has mentioned Montana as one of his inspirations and an idol.
[http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/8170976 Tom Brady Story. Accessed January 11, 2006.] He played college football for and graduated from the University of Michigan, sitting on the bench his first two years, including a year as understudy to fellow UM teammate and future NFL quarterback Brian Griese, who led the Wolverines to the 1997 National Championship. Brady battled for the first string quarterback position with Drew Henson and ultimately started every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons under Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. He was All-Big Ten both seasons and team captain his senior year. The Wolverines won 20 of the 25 games that Brady started and shared the Big Ten Conference title in 1998. In the 1999 season, Brady led Michigan in defeating Alabama in an overtime game (35-34) in the Orange Bowl in which he threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns. Though Brady's college career was quite successful, he was by no means regarded as a superstar.
NFL career
2001–2002 season
After being selected in the 6th round of the 2000 Draft, Brady served as a backup quarterback to Drew Bledsoe, going 1-for-3 during the season for 6 passing yards. All those came in one game, a 34-9 loss to the Detroit Lions at the Pontiac Silverdome. His first season, he was a fourth-string quarterback, behind Bledsoe, John Friesz and Michael Bishop. (Most teams carry only three quarterbacks.) By the beginning of the 2001 season, he moved up to second place on the depth chart.
His role changed on September 23, 2001,
