Tom Brady is retired. For the second time and, at the very least, for a longer span than his first 40-day retirement in 2022.
That means he’s available for weekend engagements this fall. The New England Patriots didn’t wait to fill up his dance card. Their very first home game of 2023 will be held in honor of the future Hall of Famer in what the team’s official social media accounts are clunkily calling the “thank you Tom game.”
Brady, of course, is the most iconic player in franchise history. The former sixth round pick spent two decades in Foxborough and is responsible for all six of the team’s Super Bowl wins. The three-time MVP is a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer, and his trip back to Massachusetts will just be the latest in a long string of fetes in his honor.
12 is coming home.@TomBrady will be honored at our home opener at @GilletteStadium.
Full game info tonight at 8:00 PM on @nflnetwork. pic.twitter.com/ot2iEO7EDa
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 11, 2023
Holding it at the very first possible occasion is also a message. Team owner Robert Kraft took to NFL Network, shared the news and call Brady “the greatest player in the history of the game” and made his reverence of the 45-year-old quarterback clear. Kraft feels no ill will lingering from Brady’s free agent departure to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (where he won a seventh Super Bowl ring). Now he’s going to give New England fans the chance to prove the same.
“The greatest player in the history of the game played right here in Foxboro, and I’m happy to tell you…I invited him back to come here and be with us at the opening game.”
Robert Kraft on honoring @TomBrady at @GilletteStadium. pic.twitter.com/Dg4Aq2TXvq
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 11, 2023
Patriots fans have a certain reputation (as someone who grew up in Rhode Island, I’ll just end that sentence there). Bringing Brady back to town for his flowers without the baggage of wearing another team’s jersey is a brilliant move to squash any beef those two sides may have had. The fans that booed him as a Buccaneer two years ago now get to reflect on his career and rain down the gratitude owed a player who helped change the trajectory of the franchise.
Bringing Brady back to Gillette Stadium for a celebration was a no-brainer. Doing it at the first chance Kraft got is a message. New England is still Tom Brady’s home, even after he left.
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