Tom Brady’s Super Bowl appearances by the numbers

Tom Brady has come a long way since the New England Patriots picked up the then-22-year-old in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

Since then, the Michigan product has defied his draft stock and led his former team to nine Super Bowl appearances, six Super Bowl titles, and hauled in a number of individual accolades in the process.

On Feb. 7, Brady will start in his record-setting 10th Super Bowl and the first with his new team, Tampa Bay. Not only will he represent the first team to play a Super Bowl on its home turf (Raymond James Stadium), but Brady will become the oldest quarterback (43 years, 188 days) to start a Super Bowl, and just the fourth quarterback to take two different franchises to the championship game.

The records don’t stop there with No. 12’s career. As we get ready for Super Bowl LV, let’s look back on 12 of the most significant numbers surrounding Brady’s 10 Super Bowl appearances.  

4

Brady has earned Super Bowl MVP honors a record four times, and has the second-best odds, behind Patrick Mahomes, to win the award in Super Bowl LV.

Only four other players have collected multiple Super Bowl MVPs — Joe Montana (3), Bart Starr (2), Terry Bradshaw (2), and Eli Manning (2).

6

Brady's number of Super Bowl titles, the most by any player in NFL history. Linebacker Charles Haley is next in line, with five, while quarterbacks Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw are tied with four titles each.

Brady won his first Super Bowl in 2001, his first year as a starter in New England, and claimed his most recent championship in 2018, when he was 41. Brady is already the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl and will make his third start in the big game since turning 40. No other quarterback has started a Super Bowl past the age of 40.

10

With Brady's 10th Super Bowl appearance, he will double the number of appearances by John Elway, the quarterback with the next-most Super Bowl starts. Elway went 2-3 in his five appearances with the Denver Broncos, while Brady is 6-3 heading into Sunday's matchup. 

Tom reached his fifth Super Bowl by the age of 34 and has played in five more since turning 37.

18

Brady has thrown a career record 18 touchdown passes in nine Super Bowl appearances. He has also tossed just six interceptions across those games, and has never rushed for a touchdown in a Super Bowl.

Joe Montana has recorded the next most Super Bowl touchdown passes (11), followed by Terry Bradshaw (9), Roger Staubach (8), Kurt Warner (6), and Steve Young (6).

24

Brady was 24 years and six months old at the time of his first Super Bowl appearance, which resulted in a 20-17 win over the 14-2 Saint Louis Rams, nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf".

In that game, Brady earned his first Super Bowl MVP, despite completing just 16-of-27 passes for 145 yards — his lowest number of completions, attempts, and passing yards in nine Super Bowl matchups.

43

Brady set the record for passes completed in a single Super Bowl, with 43. He achieved the mark against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, where Brady staged a 25-point comeback — the largest in Super Bowl history. 

48

A year after Brady's win in Super Bowl LI, he matched a Super Bowl record he had previously set for most pass attempts without an interception.

In both Super Bowl LII, against the Philadelphia Eagles, and Super Bowl XLII, against the New York Giants, Brady attempted 48 passes without getting intercepted by the defense.

Brady lost both of those games, in spite of his performance.

62

In Super Bowl LI, Brady also set the single-game Super Bowl record for pass attempts, with 62. Buffalo's Jim Kelly previously held the record, with 58 in Super Bowl XXVI in 1992.

256

In addition to holding the record for passes completed in a single Super Bowl, Brady has also completed the most career Super Bowl passes (256). Peyton Manning is next in line with 103 across his four Super Bowl appearances (two with Indianapolis and two with Denver).

392

On the way to setting the above completion record, Brady attempted 392 passes — another all-time Super Bowl record. Manning is second with 155 career Super Bowl pass attempts.

505

In Super Bowl LII, Brady tallied 505 passing yards, a single-game Super Bowl record, while adding three touchdown passes in a 41-33 loss to Philadelphia. He generated a 115.4 passer rating, the best of his nine Super Bowl appearances.

Brady also threw for the second most passing yards in a Super Bowl, with 466 in Super Bowl LI.

2,838

One more Super Bowl passing record on Brady's résumé is most career passing yards (2,838). That is more than twice the total of Warner's career Super Bowl passing yards (1,156), which is the next most by any quarterback in NFL history.