After the most remarkable career the NFL has ever seen, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Junior called it quits at the end of the 2022 season. Since then, he’s forayed into many different opportunities, including becoming a voice for the NFL on FOX and a minority owner for the Las Vegas Raiders. However, one designation is still left for him due to the constraints of its rules.
Retiring in 2023, there is still a way to go before Tom Brady can officially call himself a Hall of Famer. But as a loaded class of 2025 takes its rightful place in Canton, Ohio, the question on many people’s minds revolves around the only seven-time Super Bowl champion in NFL history. So how long before Brady cements his place in the Hall of Fame?
Tom Brady Hall of Fame Eligibility
Usually, we’d make a case for the player in question to determine if he was good enough to earn a bid to the notoriously selective Pro Football Hall of Fame. But this is Brady we are talking about. The player is almost unanimously accepted as the GOAT.
His case for the Hall of Fame is about as impeccable as it gets. Three MVPs, including a unanimous selection, seven Super Bowl championships, and virtually every passing record under the sun, he was the orchestrator of the greatest dynasty the sport has ever seen.
However, with players needing to wait five years after retirement before becoming eligible for a spot in Canton, the Pro Football Hall of Fame did not leave it up for debate. When he announced his retirement for the second time in 2023, they gave the timeline everyone was waiting for.
On X, they wrote, “Should this morning’s retirement announcement truly be the end of @TomBrady’s illustrious career, 2028 is a year worth noting.” For those still in the unknown, he will be eligible for an enrishment in the class of 2028.
His throne atop the NFL hierarchy is virtually unchallenged. And while a mere formality in his case, his ascension to the Hall of Fame will tick off one final box on the proverbial checklist.
Should this morning’s retirement announcement truly be the end of @TomBrady’s illustrious career, 2028 is a year worth noting. pic.twitter.com/w6xIaYKDe2
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 1, 2023
Coincidentally, two players he’s attributed as brutally tough opponents during his playing days, Aaron Donald and JJ Watt, will also be eligible for the 2028 class, potentially entering Canton with a career rival.
Currently, 382 members are in the Hall of Fame. That number will reach or even eclipse the 400 mark in three years. However, Brady is one that the entire football world will remember.
