Tom Brady is coming home.
The Patriots will honor Brady during their home opener of the 2023 regular season, owner and CEO Robert Kraft announced Thursday morning.
Kraft, appearing on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, said it will be the start of several celebrations to honor Brady this year.
“I invited him back to come here and be with us at the opening game and let the fans in New England thank him for the great service he gave us for over 20 years,” he said.
According to The Score’s Jordan Schultz, the Patriots’ home opener will be a Sunday Night Football kickoff against Miami in Week 2. Kraft did not specify how the Patriots plan to honor Brady outside the home opener.
Brady announced his retirement from football earlier this offseason. The 45-year-old is widely recognized as the greatest quarterback of all time, a seven-time Super Bowl champion who spent 20 seasons in New England and powered the greatest dynasty in NFL history. Brady finished his career playing three seasons in Tampa Bay, where he won his seventh and final Super Bowl.
Brady’s last game in Foxboro was a 19-17 Buccaneers win over the Patriots in Week 4 of the 2021 season. He went 22-of-43 for 269 yards, zero touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked once in a highly anticipated reunion between himself and Pats coach Bill Belichick.
The Bucs won on a 48-yard field goal kicked inside the 2-minute warning. Patriots kicker Nick Folk followed with a missed 56-yarder with less than a minute left to seal Tampa’s win.
Brady’s final game as a Patriot was a Wild Card home playoff loss to the Titans in Jan. 2020. He left New England two months later as a free agent and won a Super Bowl in his first season with the Bucs. Brady initially retired in 2022, then returned 40 days later to lead Tampa Bay back to the playoffs last season.
After his second retirement, Brady and Belichick spoke publicly together for the first time since their shared time in New England. Appearing on Brady’s “Let’s Go!” podcast, Belichick called him the greatest player to ever live.
“The greatest player, the greatest career. A great, great person. It was such an opportunity and an honor for me to coach Tom,” Belichick said. “I guess it’s gotta end at some point. But it’s the greatest one ever. Congratulations, Tom.”