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Regardless of how it would have ended, Tom Brady’s status as the greatest quarterback to ever play the game was set in stone even before Super Bowl 55 against the defending world champion Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, Brady did what Brady does and helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the Vince Lombardi for the second time in franchise history.
The win on the game’s biggest stage was Brady’s seventh, allowing him to add to his already legendary collection of Super Bowl records. In fact, let’s take a closer look at them.
Most Super Bowl wins: 7
Brady is just lapping the field when it comes to Super Bowl wins. Seven rings — the first six of which earned as a member of the New England Patriots — is two more than the next closest player. Defensive lineman Charles Haley won five rings with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. Among quarterbacks, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw are next with four wins on Super Bowl Sunday.
Most Super Bowl appearances: 10
Sunday’s Super Bowl was the 10th time Brady had led his team to the title game. He has now done so on more than half of his non-injured seasons as a starting quarterback, and thus appeared in 18 percent of all Super Bowls played so far. The player coming closest to him is former Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos defensive lineman Mike Lodish, who appeared in six Super Bowls. Among quarterbacks, John Elway’s five appearances come closest.
Most Super Bowl MVP awards: 5
Joe Montana was named the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player in three of his title game appearances, but Brady has long passed his former idol on that list. He now has earned the MVP five times: he earned it after Super Bowls 36, 38, 49 and 51 in New England, and now after the 55th edition of the big game in Tampa Bay. The only teammates of his who were able to earn the trophy were wide receivers Deion Branch (Super Bowl 39) and Julian Edelman (Super Bowl 53).
Most Super Bowl pass attempts: 421
Brady dropped back to pass 30 times on Sunday, with 29 passes leaving his right arm. He therefore became the first quarterback to cross the 400-attempt mark in the Super Bowl to bring his total to 421. Next on that list is Peyton Manning, who threw 155 passes during his four games with the Broncos and Indianapolis Colts.
Most Super Bowl completions: 277
Due to his 21 completions against Kansas City, Brady now has thrown more successful passes in the Super Bowl than the next three quarterbacks on the list combined: Peyton Manning (103), Kurt Warner (83) and Joe Montana (83) have thrown 269 completions during their careers. The three Hall of Famers have played in 11 games together, showing that Brady’s completions are not just a pure volume statistic.
Most Super Bowl touchdown passes: 21
Brady threw three touchdowns against the Chiefs defense, hooking up twice with Rob Gronkowski and once with Antonio Brown. He therefore now has 10 more scoring throws in the Super Bowl than the next closest competitor: Joe Montana threw 11 touchdown passes in his four title game appearances with the San Francisco 49ers. Fun fact, Brady is only tied for fourth when it comes to interceptions thrown (6).
Most Super Bowl passing yards: 3,039
Brady added 201 passing yards against the Chiefs on Sunday to cross the 3,000-yard barrier and further set himself apart from the next closest player in this category. Kurt Warner, who played in three Super Bowls with the then-St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals, passed for a combined 1,156 yards.
Most pass attempts in a single Super Bowl: 62
The Patriots took the Atlanta Falcons to overtime in Super Bowl 51, which allowed Brady to attempt the most passes ever thrown in a single title game. When all was said and done, he had thrown the ball 62 times for 466 yards that day. Only Jim Kelly’s performance in Super Bowl 26 — the Buffalo Bills legend attempted 58 throws — comes close to Brady’s workload that day.
Most pass completions in a single Super Bowl: 43
Brady also completed the most passes in a single Super Bowl versus the Falcons, connecting on 43 of his throws. He actually broke his own record, set two years earlier, that day: against the Seattle Seahawks, he completed 37 passes. The next closest player on the list is Peyton Manning, who had 34 successful pass attempts in the Denver Broncos’ loss in Super Bowl 48.
Most passing yards in a single Super Bowl: 505
Brady’s most prolific performance from a pure yardage perspective came in a loss. He threw for 505 yards in New England’s defeat against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52. He did set a new record along the way, though, while helping three pass catchers — Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan — break the 100-yard receiving barrier that day.
Most 300-yard passing games in the Super Bowl: 4
While he did not crack the 300-yard mark against the Chiefs — as noted above, he finished with 201 — Brady is the career leader in individual games with 300+ passing yards. He accomplished the feature four times when he did so in Super Bowls 38, 49, 51 and 52. Kurt Warner, for comparison, has three such games on his title game résumé.
Most game-winning drives in a Super Bowl: 6
Brady is not just the most successful quarterback in Super Bowl history, but also the clutch performer when the lights are brightest. No number illustrates this as much as the list of game-winning drives he has led: Brady drove his team to victory on six separate occasions — all of which as a member of the Patriots. The next closest are Terry Bradshaw and Eli Manning with two such series.
Most decades with a Super Bowl win: 3
Winning the second Super Bowl of the 2020s, and first with a full season in the 2020s preceding it, Brady has now won a Super Bowl in three separate decades. He earned three rings in the 2000s (Super Bowls 36, 38, 39), added three more in the 2010s (Super Bowls 49, 51, 53), and has now also done so in the 2020s.
Oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl: 43
Brady already became the oldest quarterback to lead his team to Super Bowl triumph two years ago, when the Patriots beat the Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl 53. Two years later and with him now aged 43, he set a new mark for longevity — and there is no telling that he does not bring it up even further next season.