Nobody could have predicted how far Tom Brady would go when he was drafted 22 years ago. But it seems like no one except the New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick knew Brady’s worth. If they did, he would have been picked earlier on in the draft. 

The Patriots selected the quarterback from Michigan college in the sixth round as the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft. This has to be the best underdog story in the league’s history. Considering what Tom Brady became, it’s the best value-for-money deal out there. 

Bill Belichick knew the value of Tom Brady from the get-go

This past Saturday was the 22nd anniversary of Tom Brady being drafted by the New England Patriots. On the occasion, a quote by Bill Belichick from the year 2000 went viral. The innocuous nature of the quote from the time has made it all the more relevant, even today. 

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After drafting Brady on April 16th, 2000, Belichick said, “The value board at that point really just clearly put him as the top value,” he continues, “Brady is a guy who has obviously played at a high level of competition in front of a lot of people. He’s been in a lot of pressure situations.” We can clearly see that the Patriots’ HC had a lot of faith in the young quarterback. 

“[He is] a good, tough, competitive, smart quarterback that is a good value, and how he does, and what he’ll be able to do. We’ll just put him out there with everybody else and let him compete and see what happens.” said the HC. Bill Belichick always showed faith in Brady. The HC never gave him a platform, we might have never seen the GOAT ascend. 

Brady with the Patriots

Tom Brady spent two decades with the franchise, after being drafted in 2000. The New England Patriots were the perfect team for Brady to grow under. He became one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the league with the help of Bill Belichick and the team. 

Together, they won six Super Bowls, and he was the MVP four times. Tom Terrific was the heart and soul of the offense. He contributed greatly to the dynasty of the franchise. Brady moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl in his first season away from New England. If Belichick did not show faith in him, we might have gotten a completely different story today. 

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