The New England Patriots will kick off their 2025 preseason slate on Friday, Aug. 8, and the GOAT will be in attendance for some special pregame festivities.

The Patriots plan to unveil a statue of Tom Brady in the hours before Friday’s 6:30 p.m. kickoff against the Washington Commanders. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, a short ceremony will be held in the plaza outside of the Patriots Hall of Fame.

A limited number of fans will be able to watch live, and the ceremony will also be broadcast on the videoboards inside Gillette Stadium. Per Reiss, both Kraft and Brady are expected to speak during the unveiling.

Brady’s reaction to his own statue should be priceless (and we can only hope his turns out better than Dwyane Wade’s with the Miami Heat).

We could spend weeks compiling the top signature moments of Tom Brady’s 20-year run with the Patriots. He won three league MVPs, reset all-time NFL records, played in nine Super Bowls, and hoisted six Lombardi Trophies during his legendary run in New England.

What we’re looking for here is Brady’s “Bobby Orr moment,” timeless visuals that strike the right balance of honor and nostalgia. With that in mind, here are five perfect visuals from Brady’s Patriots career that perfectly encapsulate the GOAT:

1. Brady’s tumbling TD spike in a blizzard during the 2001 NFL playoffs

You could argue that Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots’ dynasty were born not in Super Bowl XXXVI vs. the St. Louis Rams, but in their Divisional Round playoff game weeks earlier against Jon Gruden’s Oakland Raiders in a snow globe at old Foxboro Stadium.

The Patriots were just about cooked, trailing 13-3 in the fourth quarter, when Brady scrambled through the snow and into the end zone. His momentum sent him tumbling as he spiked the football, a moment literally frozen in time for Patriots fans old enough to remember watching the game.

A Brady spike statue might not be the most fitting for the greatest passer in NFL history, but it was an unforgettable sight.

When you consider the “Tuck Rule” and Adam Vinatieri’s impossible 45-yard field goal that forced overtime, it’s actually kind of perfect.

2. Brady’s reaction to seeing his family in the stands following Super Bowl XXXVI

Brady was 24 years old following Super Bowl XXXVI, which ended with a game-winning field goal drive to beat Kurt Warner and the heavily-favored St. Louis Rams in New Orleans. New England’s 20-17 win was an absolute whirlwind, to fans watching around the country and the players themselves on the field.

Brady’s reaction from the postgame awards ceremony was priceless. As he locked eyes with members of his family in the stands, Brady raised both arms in the air, a wide smile of disbelief on his face. He then dropped both hands on top of his shaking head, as if to say, “Can you believe this is happening?” 

The Patriots have two potential visuals here. Both would bring fans back to one of the best sports memories of their lives.

3. “We’re bringing this sucker home!” after Super Bowl LI

We can’t discuss potential Brady statues without finding a visual from Super Bowl LI. Patriots fans thought they had seen everything until the Patriots rallied back from a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to stun the Atlanta Falcons in what was then the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.

Brady, the Patriots, and their fans still to this day love to troll the Falcons over 28-3. The game was an all-timer, and while linebacker Dont’a Hightower and wide receiver Julian Edelman each made spectacular plays to make the comeback possible, Brady’s lasting image from that night came during his postgame address on stage.

Hosting yet another Lombardi trophy over his head with his right arm, Brady screamed his signature “Let’s go!” to the crowd as the right, white, and blue confetti fell around him. He later told the fans in New England, “We’re bringing this sucker home!” while raising the Lombardi overhead one more time.

Brady, the Lombardy Trophy and confetti? Now that’s a recipe for a great statue.

4. Brady to Randy Moss: 2 single-season NFL records on 1 heave

Brady might nix anything connected to 2007, especially anything associated with Eli Manning’s New York Giants. But no matter how things ultimately ended, the Patriots made history in East Rutherford in the final game of that regular season.

With one unforgettable, 65-yard heave, Brady and Randy Moss broke two NFL records — Brady for single-season TD passes (50), and Moss for single-season TD receptions (23). The Giants gave New England all it could handle that night (an unfortunate sign of things to come), but the Patriots prevailed for the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history; the feat still hasn’t been matched in over 17 years.

As for a potential statue, center Dan Koppen tended to hoist Brady up in the air after big plays. Brady was actually mobbed after his record-setting pass to Moss by Koppen and the entire offensive line before quickly shifting his focus back to the game.

The QB would certainly approve of a statue of him celebrating with his linemen, a group that helped keep him upright for 335 career games.

5. Brady’s signature stadium entrance to Jay-Z’s Public Service Announcement (of course)

That brings us to the obvious frontrunner. Brady’s weekly stadium entrance, fist pump, and “Let’s (expletive) go!” calling card became a reason for fans to leave the tailgates early and enter the stadium. He even took it with him to Tampa Bay, firing up the Gillette Stadium crowd in his lone trip back to Foxboro as an opponent during the 2021 season.

Brady recreated his stadium entrance when he was honored at halftime during the Patriots’ home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023. Jay-Z later performed Brady’s signature song during the ensuing induction ceremony at Gillette Stadium on June 12, 2024.