The New England Patriots will be immortalizing Tom Brady next season, with owner Robert Kraft announcing during Tom Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last Wednesday night that the club has already commissioned a 12-foot statue of their beloved quarterback.
No exact date has been set, but Kraft said a 12-foot bronze statue of Brady will be placed outside Gillette Stadium at some point during the 2024 season.
The news wasn’t really much of a surprise to fans, as the retired Patriots legend provided nearly 20-years of unbelievable memories during his tenure as quarterback here in New England.
NFL Statues: A Tradition Honoring Legends
Many players, coaches, and even owners have been immortalized with statues around the NFL, with some notable names among them.
Some of those names include Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis, Jim Brown, Pat Tillman, Barry Sanders, Johnny Unitas, Jerry Richardson, Lamar Hunt, Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Art Rooney, Tom Landry, Dan Marino, and Steve Gleason.
The most recent statue unveiled appears to have been for long-time Lions running back Barry Sanders, which was unveiled last September. However, the club seemingly used a photo by a photographer named Allen Kee, who snapped the photo during a game against the Steelers back on September 3, 1995.
Kee was reportedly not contacted during the design and didn’t provide permission, and he filed a lawsuit back in January over the club’s use of his photograph due to the fact the statue resembles that exact photo.
For Sanders, it was an incredible honor, and he was certainly appreciative. The former Lions running back received a nice turnout, with over 150 members of his friends and former teammates all on hand for the event.
“It’s such a unique honor,” said Sanders at the time via the Lion’s official website. “I grew up being familiar with Heisman Trophy (winners) and NFL MVPs, but to have your own statue is something that’s just unique and so far out of the realm of anything I would have ever imagined.”
How Brady’s Statue Compares
As for how Brady’s 12-foot statue might compare to some of the current ones in existence, here’s a quick rundown of some of the sizes of the existing NFL Statues that are out there:
- Peyton Manning – 9ft
- Ray Lewis – 9 ft
- Jim Brown – 11 ft, 6 in
- Pat Tillman – 6 ft
- Barry Sanders – 8ft
- Johnny Unitas – 14ft
- Jerry Richardson – 12 ft, 10 in
- Lamar Hunt – 9 ft
- Vince Lombardi – 14 ft
- Don Shula – 11 ft
- Art Rooney – 4ft (he’s seated)
- Tom Landry – 12 feet
- Dan Marino – 16 feet
- Steve Gleason – 13 feet
While the design for Brady’s statue has not been revealed yet, it will be interesting to see what the final product looks like.
Given the other coaching names listed above, one would also have to believe there will be another outside the stadium at some point for former Patriots head coach Belichick as well.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Portions of the above appeared in a previous Daily News and Notes article)
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
