Tom Brady Returns to New England Patriots for Special Ceremony

Tom Brady kicked off the 2023 NFL season with the New England Patriots. The seven-time Super Bowl champion didn't unretire again, but he was the star of the Patriots' opener against the Philadelphia Eagles as he was honored during a special ceremony at halftime. Brady wore his No. 12 Patriots jersey and was on the field with his children — Jack, 16, Benjamin, 13, and Vivian, 10. 

"I'm not quite in game shape, but it's impossible for me to be in a stadium full of you amazing fans with some of the best teammates, with my family, with all my friends and not run out like I did for 20 years," Brady said during the ceremony, per PEOPLE. "This is an incredible celebration for me, for our family, for my teammates, for all of us to come back and thank you guys for what you've done for us."

In case you missed it, we celebrated the 🐐 yesterday.@TomBrady | #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/5ofPAiDGfp

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 11, 2023

Brady played his last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his first 20 with the Patriots. During the ceremony, Brady talked about being drafted by the team in 2000 and didn't know where New England was. "I was so fortunate to be drafted here two decades ago, 23 years to be exact, not even knowing where New England was on the map," Brady said. "And not that we put it on the map, but I think a lot more people in the U.S. know where the New England Patriots play."

Brady also looked back at the Patriots winning six Super Bowls with him under center. "We had a lot of countless memories in this stadium," he said. Celebrating wins against great teams in Foxborough weather like today where we love, love seeing the opponents come in and be a little worried about what the conditions were going to be like."

"We dealt with whatever came our way. We dealt with a lot of adversities, and it toughened us up. And we as a team represented you guys. Every time we took the field," Brady added. "It's one of my core beliefs there's nothing significant in life that can be accomplished as an individual. It's always about the team."

Brady announced his retirement in February. In his 23-year NFL career, Brady, 46, won seven Super Bowls, won the Super Bowl MVP award five times, was named NFL MVP three times, was selected to the All-Pro Team six times and was named to the Pro Bowl 15 times.