Tom Brady Explains the Evolution of His Signature on Cards Over the Years

At this point, if you have spent any amount of time in the hobby, you have seen autos with zero effort put into them. They look like initials, at best, and a scribble at worst. When you, as the collector, are paying for a spot in a break, a value box, or a hobby box - whatever amount of money it may cost - you obviously want the athlete to care about their autograph and not just scribble something if you are lucky enough to hit an auto.

Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. A lot of athletes, though, especially those who collect cards, do take pride in their autographs or try to make sure it looks good. It is always much appreciated when an athlete takes the time and puts some effort into their autograph.

Or, as Tom Brady put it, a signature goes on a check, and an autograph is for the card.

Why Did Brady Change His Autograph?

Brady tried to copy his dad's signature when he was younger. A thing I can 100 percent relate to as I tried to copy my mom and dad's signatures, but unlike Tom Brady I never thought to change mine. Brady decided he should put more effort into it.

"It should be more of an autograph than a signature. That's how I sign my checks, not that we really sign checks anymore, and then I changed my autograph, but I don't remember what year."

Brady also revealed his signature contains a bit of an easter egg.

"I decided to make the 'B', and I don't know if you can see it, but the 'B' is like a '1' and a '2.'"

The Evolution of Tom Brady's Auto

Tom Brady Rookie Year Auto | Card Ladder

The autograph on the famous Contenders Tom Brady Championship ticket looks like Brady just signed a check. It's not a big signature, or autograph, either way.

We are seeing the evolution start around 2016, per Brady, and this 2016 National Treasures auto certainly looks very different from his rookie year signature. We still aren't at 1 + 2 = B, but we are getting there.

Tom Brady 2023 Bowman Draft Auto | Card Ladder

Now we are starting to see the modern Tom Brady autograph in this 2023 Bowman Draft Tom Brady auto, though it looks a little more like 1 + 3 = B in the autograph. Also, it looks like his first name is "Tim" here, but that's less important.

2025 Topps Chrome Tom Brady Auto | Card Ladder

We've now reached the full Pokémon-style evolution of the Brady autograph. This is the 2025 Topps Chrome autograph from the 1-of-1 Superfractor. I would argue the Bowman Draft auto "looks" better, but I do see what he was supposedly going for with the "B" looking more like a "1" and "2" here.

Either way, whether it looks like 12 or 13, I think we can all appreciate the time and effort Brady has put into signing the cards we all chase rather than simply scribbling "TB12."

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