Tom Brady 2019 New England Patriots Game Worn Helmet | Tom Brady’s Final Game As New England Patriot | Matched to Complete 2019 Regular Season | Matched to 21 Games | 2019 NFL Playoffs | Brady’s Final Season As Patriot

Sotheby’s is proud to present, directly from his personal collection, Tom Brady’s final New England Patriots game-worn helmet.

Matched to 21 New England Patriots games from the 2019 season, including the preseason and postseason, this represents one of the most comprehensively matched pieces of Brady memorabilia in the world and the swan song of one of the most dominant single-team runs by an athlete in sporting history. 

Entering the 2019 season, his 20th in the NFL and with the Patriots, Tom Brady was already the byword for football excellence. He had a record 6 Super Bowl rings and 4 Super Bowl MVPs, was a 14-time Pro Bowl selection, and a lock to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first possible occasion. While this may have satisfied most, it became clear that the greatest football player of all time was still hungry for more.

Brady had a strong 2019 season. He threw for 4,057 yards, the 11th time in his career that he had thrown for more than 4,000 yards, as well as 24 touchdowns, all in this helmet. His Patriots won the AFC East for the 11th consecutive season while his head coach Bill Belichick became only the third head coach in NFL history to win 300 games. 

2019 also saw Brady further cement himself as an all-time great in the record books thanks to his methodical pursuit of excellence. In a Week 5 trouncing of Washington, Brady had perhaps his best performance of the year, passing for 348 yards and three touchdowns against only one interception, and in the process passed Brett Favre for third all-time in career passing yards. Four days later, in Week 6 at home against his longtime rival New York Giants and Eli Manning, he passed Peyton Manning for 2nd all-time in that same category. Later in the season, in Week 13 against the Houston Texans, Brady had another 300 yard, three touchdown game while passing Brett Favre for second all-time in completions. In his final regular season game in a Patriot uniform, in this helmet, Brady passed Peyton for 2nd all-time in passing touchdowns. Even after 20 seasons, Brady only knew how to excel on a football field.

Brady would go on to sign with the Buccaneers the following offseason and lead Tampa Bay to only the second Super Bowl in franchise history and his seventh (more than any team in NFL history). He also added another Super Bowl MVP to his trophy closet and a 15th Pro Bowl selection to his resume before finally hanging his cleats up for good in 2023. However, when the football world recalls the NFL journey of its all time passing yards, passing touchdowns, and completions leader, it is safe to say that most will think predominantly of his time in Foxborough. Over 20 years in New England, Brady redefined greatness in the NFL. He led his team from zero Super Bowl wins in franchise history to being tied for the most all-time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had established himself as a statistical marvel, sitting at or near the top of many different categories. He would build on his success in New England to reach the top of even more in Tampa. His journey with the Patriots saw what many say could be two or three Hall of Fame worthy careers: that historic journey came to an end in this historic helmet.

MeiGray have photomatched Tom Brady wearing this helmet to the following games:

• August 8, 2019 versus the Carolina Panthers in the preseason - Brady did not play in this game.
• August 17, 2019 versus the Tennessee Titans in the preseason - Brady did not play in this game.
• August 22, 2019 versus the Carolina Panthers in the preseason. Brady threw for 75 passing yards. 
• August 29, 2019 versus the New York Giants in the preseason. Brady did not play in this game.
• September 8, 2019 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season opener. 341 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns
• September 15, 2019 versus the Miami Dolphins. 264 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns along with 1 rushing touchdown
• September 22, 2019 versus the New York Jets. 306 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns. 
• September 29, 2019 versus the Buffalo Bills. 150 passing yards.
• October 6, 2019 versus the Washington Redskins. 348 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns.
• October 10, 2019 versus the New York Giants. 334 passing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns.
• October 21, 2019 versus the New York Jets. 249 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown.
• October 27, 2019 versus the Cleveland Browns. 259 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns.
• November 3, 2019 versus the Baltimore Ravens. 285 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown.
• November 17, 2019 versus the Philadelphia Eagles. 216 passing yards.
• November 24, 2019 versus the Dallas Cowboys. 190 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown.
• December 1, 2019 versus the Houston Texans. 326 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns.
• December 8, 2019 versus the Kansas City Chiefs. 169 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown.
• December 15, 2019 versus the Cincinnati Bengals. 128 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns.
• December 21, 2019 versus the Buffalo Bills. 271 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown.
• December 29, 2019 versus the Miami Dolphins. 221 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns.
• January 4, 2019 in the AFC Wild Card Round versus the Tennessee Titans. 209 passing yards and last game as a member of the New England Patriots.

Mr. Brady removed the decals from the helmet during the pandemic era, in order to use it for practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Going Deeper - Tom Brady

Humble Beginnings and the Road to Greatness

There are only a few athletes who are near-universally accepted as the greatest in their sport: Tiger Woods, Muhammad Ali, Wayne Gretzky, Babe Ruth—and Tom Brady.

While most of them entered their respective sports as highly touted prospects, Brady’s journey began as an unassuming sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft.

During ESPN’s segment covering the 199th pick, resident draft expert Mel Kiper remarked, “[Brady] throws a very catchable ball.” Watching the segment today, there is little evidence Kiper realized he was talking about the player who threw perhaps the most catchable ball in the history of the sport. Brady holds the record for the most passing yards, completions, and touchdowns in NFL history.

Kiper would go on to talk about Brady’s perceived weaknesses: “The question is going to be mobility. He only runs a 5.25 forty [yard dash] and of course when you have those edge pass rushers, you have to avoid the initial defensive end, the initial pass rusher. Can he do that at the pro level?”

Brady’s seemingly pedestrian 2000 NFL Combine performance (his 40-yard dash was on par with some offensive lineman) and the now infamous photo of his less-than-strapping, unathletic physique, have become part of the lore for what many consider the best draft pick of all time. Every year come draft time, that photo of Brady gets circulated through social media as teams hope to strike gold again as the New England Patriots did in the year 2000.

Brady would acknowledge as much when he posted the picture to his personal Instagram years later, with the caption:

“19 years ago today the @patriots took a chance on the guy in this photo: Me (199) 😂. Thank you to EVERYONE who’s helped me to prove them right! PS: Did they stop taking these photos after mine?? 🤣🤣”

What followed, of course, is legend. Brady would go on to join the Patriots as their fourth-string quarterback and was, by no means, a lock to even make the team. By the following season however, he was thrust into a starting role after veteran starter Drew Bledsoe sustained an injury in week two. That opportunity was all Brady needed. He would lead the Patriots to a 20-17 victory in Super Bowl XXXVI that year and become the youngest Super Bowl MVP.

Brady would win five more Super Bowls with the New England Patriots as well as one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on his way to becoming the best quarterback, and arguably player, in the history of the sport. No NFL player has ever come close to being as good for as long. If you split Brady’s career into segments, you would find two, maybe even three, Hall of Fame resumes.

In 2024, Brady began the next chapter of his storied career in a new arena as the primary color commentator for FOX’s Sunday NFL broadcasts.