Back in his Michigan days, Tom Brady wasn’t the college football hero we know now. Sure, he led the Wolverines to a crazy 35-34 win over Alabama in the 2000 Orange Bowl, throwing for 369 yards and four touchdowns. But even with that performance, Brady was always fighting for attention. He wasn’t the most athletic guy on the field and had to battle for the starting quarterback job the whole time.
Then came the 2000 NFL Combine, and let’s just say, it didn’t do him any favors. Brady clocked a sluggish 5.28-second 40-yard dash, one of the slowest among quarterbacks that year. His vertical leap? A modest 24.5 inches. And that now-infamous shirtless photo? It became a meme before memes even existed. Scouts weren’t impressed, and many teams passed on him, doubting his athleticism and potential.
For a brief moment, maybe—just maybe—young Brady saw himself behind a desk (you know, his father had an insurance firm) instead of under center. But then the Patriots called… and the rest is history. Fast forward 25 years, and Brady decided to relive that moment. On Wednesday, he hopped on his Instagram and shared a screenshot from The Brady 6 documentary. You know, the one where young, long-haired Brady gets all choked up during an emotional interview with NFL Films’ Steve Sabol.
Yeah, that moment when he expressed his relief after being drafted by the Patriots, and his excitement about not having to be an insurance salesman. “I remember taking a walk with my dad and mom around the block,” Brady recalled at that time while breaking down in tears. “It was just a tough day, you know, I just remember being there with my mom and dad… “You know, they just were so supportive of me, and they take it as emotional as I do, and you know, finally, when the patriots called, I was so excited you know, I was like, ‘I don’t have to be an insurance salesman.’
“You know, so my family was there, we were all excited, and thank god I got picked here.” The interesting part? Well, it’s his recent IG story that caught everyone’s attention. “Diabolical screenshot and caption here. I was just thinking about how any insurance job would’ve made me get a haircut,” he wrote in his story. Well, that sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it? I mean, Brady’s dad, Tom Sr., wasn’t just dabbling in insurance.
He built a whole empire with Thomas Brady & Associates, operating out of San Francisco, Boston, and even New York. So we’ve no clue if Tom Brady would have been working for his dad’s firm or any other company if he hadn’t been drafted by the Patriots. But one thing’s for sure: any insurance company would’ve made him get a haircut.
Tom Brady: From sixth-round shrug to seven rings
Tom Brady’s initial NFL career was anything but smooth. And we’re talking about his early draft days. Think about this: six QBs (Chad Pennington, Giovanni Carmazzi, Chris Redman, Tee Martin, Marc Bulger, and Spergon Wynn) were picked before him, and a few teams didn’t even give him a second look. The man legit waited until the sixth round, 199th pick, before the Patriots finally picked him.
“We were led to believe that he was going to be drafted, possibly second round, probably third round,” Brady’s father, Tom Brady Sr., told ESPN. “They kept calling quarterback names, and we kept being stunned.” Fast forward to 2001, and Brady got his first shot at a starting role when QB Drew Bledsoe got injured. From that moment, it was like watching a storybook unfold. He didn’t just step up—he took over.
TB12 then started the Patriots dynasty under the guidance of Bill Belichick. And led New England to six freakin’ Super Bowl rings. Along the way, the NFL GOAT earned a ton of records, a handful of MVPs, and built a reputation for delivering when it mattered most. Especially in the clutch. Whether you talk about the Tuck Rule game or a comeback against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, if there was one thing that Brady knew, it was surely about how to make the impossible seem easy.
Fast forward to now, and despite hanging up his cleats a few years back, the guy didn’t hit the brakes. And he’s still making waves in the NFL world. Whether it’s signing a record-breaking deal with FOX as a sportscaster or being a minority owner of the Raiders. Tom Brady is everywhere. To top that off, the Patriots legend played a key role when the Raiders traded for Geno Smith as their starting QB.
At the end of the day, what started as Brady’s fear of ending up in an insurance office turned into a full-blown fairytale career in the NFL. Safe to say, the NFL GOAT definitely got the best plot twist.