Tom Brady NFL All-Time Passing Yards Record Breaking Game Used Football | ‘80,560 Yards’ | Used in Brady’s Historic Return to New England

Sotheby’s is proud to present, directly from his personal collection, Tom Brady’s NFL All-Time Passing Yards record breaking football, from when Tom Brady passed Drew Brees’ record of 80,358 yards. 

As substantial as playoff battles, championships, and big wins are in a player’s career and relationship with a club, there are often three games that cannot be fully replicated in form. The day an athlete makes their debut for a team, the day they last take the field for that team, and (if applicable) the day they come back to play that very same team, but this time, as a rival. Legends such as Jordan, Gretzky, and LeBron have made that journey to face down crowds that once exalted their greatness. In 2021, Tom Brady returned north to play against the New England Patriots, the franchise that drafted him and that in turn he made legendary.

On October 3, 2021, almost exactly two decades after he first played in front of the Foxborough faithful, Brady came back to Massachusetts for a long-awaited matchup: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus the New England Patriots. A rainy night at Gillette Stadium, TB12 played through what he called “Patriot weather” as well as the waves of emotions that washed over him as he retook the field where he had led the home team to so many wins before. Under the circumstances, he was cool and collected as he led the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers to a fourth quarter comeback victory.

That night, Brady also etched his name into the history books yet again. On a 28-yard completion to Mike Evans, with this ball, Tom Brady claimed the all-time passing yards crown, previously held by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees Despite claiming one of football’s most storied records, he hardly stopped to take a beat, heading right back into the huddle to finish off the scoring drive that resulted in a field goal.

The Bucs ultimately eked out a 19-17 victory for their third win of the year. After the game, Tom’s praise was effusive for the “guys [he’d] shared [his] life with” that had such an outsized impact on his “football journey” including Patriots coach Bill Belichick and a number of his former teammates. “I feel like I’ll always be part of this community… It’s been an amazing place for me.” 

Epitomizing the leadership that made him an all-timer, he also took time to give credit to his teammates and coaches throughout his career: “I just think it's an amazing statistic in that so many people can share in it with me…Quarterback doesn't throw and catch. Quarterback can just throw it. It's yards. Passing yards have to be caught, so I just hope that everybody who caught passes from me over the years just had a little smile on their face tonight knowing they contributed to a very cool record.” The NFL world, including Drew Brees, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the New England Patriots, all celebrated Brady’s accomplishment. It was only fitting that it took place against the team that had taken a chance on Brady with the 199th pick in the year 2000.

The ball is accompanied by letters from MeiGray in regards to photomatching and Tom Brady in regards to provenance. 

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.