Video: John Madden knew Tom Brady would be ‘for real’ in 2002

Tom Brady is 44 years old and still a star in the NFL. He’s played much beyond anyone figured he would. And he’s played at a level higher than most figured he could. His career trajectory has been truly unfathomable.

But nearly 20 years ago, announcer John Madden thought Brady was the real deal.

During Thursday night’s season-opening game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys, NBC played a clip from the Monday night game in Week 1 of the 2002 season. That game was between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Brady was the quarterback of the defending champion Patriots at the time. But he was just a sixth-round pick who took over for Drew Bledsoe the year before and only had 413 regular season attempts under his belt. There were still many questions about how good Brady would be.

Madden, who was the analyst alongside Al Michaels, said he thought Brady would be “for real.”

John Madden and Al Michaels talking about Tom Brady, 19 years ago today.

Madden: "I feel that he's going to be for real." pic.twitter.com/HW6Ogh2dOs

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2021

That wasn’t such an easy call to make back then, though it seems silly in hindsight. The Patriots went 9-7 that season and missed the playoffs. But they followed it up by winning consecutive Super Bowls in 2003 and 2004.

If Brady put together a Hall of Fame resume in the first half of his career, the second half has been even more impressive. That’s truly incredible.