There is much hype every year when the National Football League (NFL) has its annual draft, where NFL franchises select the best college football players.
Understandably, the focus goes on the first overall pick and those chosen during the first round.
However, it is not always a first-round pick that becomes a global superstar. Look at Tom Brady as living proof.
Brady played college football for Michigan between 1995 and 1999.
The quarterback put up some impressive displays, but nothing that made him stand out from the crowd.
He seemed to lack that all-important X-Factor, and an unimpressive NFL Scouting Combine meant Brady found himself quite the way down the pecking order.
The New England Patriots selected Brady as the 199th overall pick in the sixth round after six other quarterbacks had already been selected.
Little did the Patriots know back then that Brady would develop into such an incredible quarterback that online sports betting sites altered their odds based on whether he is on the team or not.
From rookie to a seven-time Super Bowl winner
His rookie NFL season saw Brady play only a handful of minutes. He completed one of his three passing attempts and gained six yards.
However, a year later, in 2001, Brady became the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots, guiding them to a Super Bowl victory.
This was the first of seven Super Bowls Brady has won during his 21-season NFL career.
Amazingly, teams have never finished with a losing record during the regular season when Brady has been the starting quarterback.
Up to the end of the 2021 season, his record stands at 243 victories and only 73 defeats.
Brady has not only managed to play professional football for 21 seasons but has done so at the very top of his game.
He holds almost all the quarterback-related NFL records, including most wins (243), most passing touchdowns (624), and most career passing yards (84,520).
Brady spent 19 seasons with the Patriots before joining forces with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He won his seventh Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in his first season in 2020, and although he returned from the game in 2021, aged 44, Brady made a dramatic U-turn and will be on the field during the upcoming season.
Brady’s personal life and net worth
A man of Brady’s talents commands a massive salary, and it is estimated that Brady has earned more than $330 million through wages alone.
Throw several million dollars more in endorsements into the mix, and you can see why Brady’s net worth is north of $300 million.
Brady dated actress Bridget Moynahan between 2004 and 2006, but the pair split while Moynahan was pregnant with Brady’s child.
Despite media reports of a problematic split, both Brady and Moynahan maintain they have been civil to one another since the birth of their son.
A blind date set up by a mutual friend saw Brady begin dating Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen in December 2006.
Bundchen is a superstar in her own right, one with a $400 million fortune. Brady and Bundchen married in February 2009 in Santa Monica, California.
They have two children, a son named Benjamin Rein and a daughter named Vivian Lake.
Brady follows a strict diet known as the TB12 Method.
Brady’s family, including his children, also follow the diet, which sees you drink a lot of water, and eat 80% alkaline foods and 20% acidic, while avoiding most fruits, mushrooms, tomatoes, coffee, soda, potatoes, bread, and rice.
He only eats organic foods stating, “if I need nutrients, I need that from the soil.”
Fellow football players Rob Gronkowski and Kirk Cousins follow the TB12 Method, as does hockey player Mark Scheifele.
Featured image credit: Jeffrey Beall via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 4.0 license
