Tom Brady Gave Patriots Fans the Homecoming They’d Been Waiting For

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — I’ve been hyper-critical of Tom Brady over the past year-plus. From saying he didn’t have a rooting interest in last February’s Super Bowl between the Patriots and Seahawks to taking an ownership stake in a Raiders team that’s a conference rival of New England’s—and everything in between—the greatest quarterback of all time had seemingly gone out of his way to distance himself from the team that he led to six Super Bowl titles.

And so, as he got set to return to Gillette Stadium on Sunday for the call of Patriots vs. Packers on Fox—a visit that marked his fifth time back in Foxborough since he decided to take his talents to the Buccaneers in 2020—I decided to keep a keen eye on how he’d carry himself.

He nailed it. No qualifiers needed.

It all started on Saturday afternoon, when Rob Gronkowski was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. With built-in excuses of bad weather in the New England area and a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff that could have easily warranted a Sunday morning flight, Brady could have mailed it in and sent a half-baked selfie video to be shown on the video boards in the Patriots Place Plaza, similar to what he did last season when Julian Edelman was inducted.

Instead, the franchise icon did the right thing and made his trip to Massachusetts a day early. Donning a red jacket of his own, Brady was there in the flesh to celebrate the tight end that made his football-playing life a whole lot easier for over a decade.

“I couldn’t miss it,” he told Gronkowski in a video posted by the Patriots on social media.

Gronk & Tommy ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Akg17bJfvF
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 7, 2026

Naturally, as Brady was introduced as “the most accomplished player in NFL history” ahead of Saturday’s festivities, he was greeted with an abundance of cheers from the countless Patriots fans who filled the plaza that just so happens to feature a 12-foot bronze statue of him with a fist raised in the air. After shaking hands with and embracing Patriots president Jonathan Kraft on stage, Brady offered several double-handed waves to those in attendance, mouthing, “Hi guys,” multiple times.

The 49-year-old looked visibly moved by the reception, and also displayed plenty of emotion while a Gronkowski highlight reel was played during the ceremony.

“I think that was a pretty big deal, him being here yesterday,” a longtime Patriots fan told me in the Gillette Stadium parking lot ahead of Sunday’s game. “Because like Gronk said, he could have been anywhere in the world and he decided to be here. And it’s obvious that they’re pretty tight, him, Jules [Julian Edelman], ’Dola [Danny Amendola], all of them.”

That same fan did, however, admit that Brady’s absence from the Patriots’ Week 5 matchup against the Raiders—when both Pro Football Hall of Famer kicker Adam Vinatieri and New England’s 2001 Super Bowl–winning team were honored—didn’t sit right with him.

“It did kind of rub me the wrong way a little bit when it came to the Raiders week,” he explained. “I understand that he’s got money in the Raiders and all of that, but he is who he is because of this organization. ... I’ll be a Brady fan the rest of my life, but man do I really wish he was blue, red and white all the way through.”

Brady made his way back to Gillette Stadium on Sunday for his and Kevin Burkhardt’s call of what became a 45–27 Packers win over the Patriots, and as he always does, he walked the field with the rest of Fox’s broadcast crew. This time, however, it was different, as Brady not only got to meet up with some of his former teammates—including three-time Super Bowl–winning wide receiver Troy Brown—but also current Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who now occupies the position Brady held for more than 20 years.

The 🐐 making his rounds @TomBrady pic.twitter.com/SiRhzVVXEb
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 8, 2026

Similar to how the Patriots piggybacked on Vinatieri’s weekend with a Super Bowl celebration, the organization honored the 10-year anniversary of their 28–3 comeback win over the Falcons in Super Bowl LI prior to kickoff. While Brady didn’t make it down to the field, as kickoff was just minutes away, he was shown inside the Fox booth on the stadium’s jumbotron and again waved to Patriots fans—this time mouthing “Thank you” numerous times as the crowd came to its feet.

Welcome back CHAMPS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/8OCv0RieVi
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 8, 2026

Just after halftime, Burkhardt noted how amazing it was to watch Brady’s return to Foxborough.

“It sure is,” Brady responded before explaining what it’s been like for him.

“Oh man, nostalgic,” he continued. “And to see my old teammates yesterday, and to honor Gronk. I know Mr. [Robert] Kraft’s at home, I just want to say hi to RKK. I know he’s watching. … I just can’t thank everyone enough for the love, the support over 20 years here. I feel like I’m the luckiest man alive to play for this unbelievable community. … I had the most amazing teammates and coaches every step of the way and we tried to take the field and do things the right way. A lot of humility, a lot of self-awareness, a lot of great, clutch performances by my teammates. That’s why they hang those banners. They can never be defended. They’re gonna hang up there forever.”

And so, even as Brady has given Patriots fans plenty to question since leaving the organization, this weekend was far from one of those times. For a two-day stretch, the greatest player the NFL has ever seen put his ego aside, embraced his past and gave New England a glimpse of the player it fell in love with more than two decades ago.

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