Tom Brady isn’t eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, until 2028. However, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and NFL legend will be honored in one Hall of Fame ceremony on Wednesday.
The New England Patriots have a special event set up just for him.
How Are the Patriots Honoring Tom Brady?
The Patriots are inducting Brady into their team’s Hall of Fame.
Fittingly, the franchise selected June 12 as the target date to honor their iconic quarterback, as June is the sixth month of the year — which matches the number of rings Brady won with the team — and 12 matching his jersey number.
The Pats once had a tradition of waiting four years after a star player retired to place him into their HOF. However, Patriots CEO and chairman Robert Kraft opted to waive the four-year grace period and ensure Brady has his name etched in Patriots lore.
How To Watch Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame Ceremony
This will not be a televised event for any cable outlet or even the NFL Network and ESPN.
However, there are ways to watch Brady’s Wednesday night ceremony.
The event will be live-streamed on the team website (patriots.com). In addition to its site, the franchise will air the ceremony through its own YouTube page.
New England also will air the event through all of its social media platforms including X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram Live.
The live broadcast starts at 5 p.m. ET. Brady’s former Patriots teammates Jason McCourty and Deatrich Wise Jr. will join Patriots reporter Tamara Brown with the coverage.
Event’s Star-Studded Guest List
Comedian Bill Burr is lined up to kickstart the event through an opening monologue. While Brady and Burr are longtime friends, the Boston native Burr was surprisingly absent from Tom Brady’s roast on Netflix in May. This time, Burr is starting the evening inside Gillette Stadium.
Burr isn’t the only high-profile guest lined up to attend. NBC’s Sunday Night Football play-by-play commentator and longtime sports personality Mike Tirico is serving as host of the event.
From there, a litany of former Brady teammates — including the ones who helped build the Patriots’ dynasty with him — are expected to be in attendance.
That includes Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, and Randy Moss. All three were present for Brady’s widely popular roast held in Los Angeles. Other notable Patriots expected to attend include Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Devin McCourty, Wes Welker, Logan Mankins, Kevin Faulk, Rob Ninkovich, and Drew Bledsoe.
While the franchise has yet to announce his confirmed appearance, Brady’s former head coach Bill Belichick is anticipated to also be present for the event, according to The Athletic’s Chad Graff.
Top Storylines Entering the Ceremony
This will be Brady’s first live, public appearance since his famed Netflix roast — only this time, he’ll be in front of his first NFL fan base and be joined by a long list of former Patriots with which he won multiple titles.
As a result, this event will have no shortage of notable storylines to watch.
How will Belichick and Kraft interact with one another? Kraft decided to fire the head coach following the Pats’ disastrous 4-13 campaign despite winning six Lombardi trophies with Brady.
However, at the Brady roast, host Kevin Hart managed to bring both on stage together at the Kia Forum to drink out of a shot glass together, one of many highlights of the evening. Perhaps this HOF ceremony could solidify that any rift between the two has been put to rest.
Outside of the Belichick/Kraft dynamic, many will wonder how Bledsoe will interact with Brady. Both quarterbacks traded playful barbs toward each other during the roast. Bledsoe is best known for going from the Pats’ franchise QB to eventually losing his starting role to Brady during their first Super Bowl run of 2001.
Bledsoe eventually left N.E. for an AFC East division rival, the Buffalo Bills. Many inside Gillette will likely watch how both men interact with each other.
Finally, fans who watch or attend will brace themselves for any more jokes about Brady. Gronkowski, Edelman, Bledsoe, and Moss were four who took digs at their legendary teammate at the Forum. However, many may wonder if Welker will get a chance to speak. Like Burr, the former Pats wide receiver was a notable no-show at the Brady roast.