Tom Brady kicked off his 23rd season in the National Football League Sunday night with a 19-3 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, which aired on Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)-owned NBC.
Brady previously announced his retirement from the league in February before announcing one month later that he would return.
“These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG,” Brady tweeted.
Brady is the oldest player in the NFL for the 2022-2023 season. Drafted 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft on April 6, 2000, a lot has changed since Brady first entered the league.
Here’s a look at 23 things that weren’t around when Brady joined the NFL.
Cryptocurrency: Leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was founded in 2009, following a white paper released the previous year. The market capitalization of Bitcoin is more than $400 billion and one of many cryptocurrencies that are now readily available to trade by consumers, including on the FTX app endorsed by Brady.
Twitter: Social media platform Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) was founded in March 2006. Brady has 2.8 million followers on the social media platform as of today.
Facebook: Social media platform Facebook, which is owned by Meta Platforms inc (NASDAQ:META), was founded in 2004, two years after Brady joined the NFL.
Instagram: Photo and video sharing social media platform Instagram, which is owned by Meta Platforms, launched in 2010. Brady has more than 12 million followers on Instagram, but trails his wife, model Gisele Bundchen at 19.7 million.
iPhone: Now one of the most popular smartphones in the world, the iPhone wasn’t launched until 2007 by Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). Brady couldn’t own an iPhone until his eighth season in the NFL.
Netflix Streaming: Now used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, the ability to stream movies and television shows from Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) wasn’t a reality when Brady joined the league. Netflix launched in 1998 as a DVD by mail service and would later add streaming in 2007.
Amazon Prime: E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) launched in the 1990s before Brady joined the NFL. The popular Amazon Prime service, which offered free two-day delivery and additional perks to members, launched in 2005 and is now a staple of the company’s business.
Uber and Lyft: Ride-share companies Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) and Lyft Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) launched in 2009 and 2012, respectively. When Brady needed to get around in the NFL during his early years, he was likely tasked with driving himself or finding a taxi, as the top two ride-share companies didn’t exist yet.
Tesla Roadster: In 2008, electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) released its first vehicle with the Tesla Roadster. Two years later, the company held its IPO and has been a strong performer over the past 12 years for investors.
Houston Texans: The year before Brady joined the NFL, the Cleveland Browns were reinstated as a franchise taking the number of NFL teams to 31. In 2002, the Houston Texans became the 32nd team in the league joining as an expansion team. Brady’s NFL career is older than one of the current NFL teams.
Legal Sports Betting: When Brady joined the league and led the Patriots franchise to many successful seasons and to Super Bowls, consumers could head to Las Vegas to bet on the success of Brady and the team or take action at illegal offshore operations. A ruling in 2018 gave the power to each state to determine if they would legalize sports betting.
Spotify: Music streaming platform Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) launched in 2006, several years after Brady joined the league and was already winning Super Bowls.
Related Link: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Tom Brady
Lord of the Rings Movies: One of the most successful movie franchises of all time is the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with movies in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The movies grossed more than $1 billion domestically and were all released after Brady joined the league.
Harry Potter Movies: Similar to the Lord of the Rings movies, the Harry Potter franchise was extremely successful. The first Harry Potter movie was released in 2001, four years after the book was released and one year after Brady was drafted by the Patriots.
Crocs: Comfort shoe brand Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) was launched in 2002 after Brady joined the NFL.
YouTube: Type "Tom Brady" into YouTube and you’ll get thousands of results for videos ranging from highlights, interviews or commentary about the NFL quarterback. When Brady first joined the NFL, the video platform founded in 2005 and now owned by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) wasn’t a thing yet.
Roomba: When Brady joined the league and later had millions of dollars to use on home furnishings, he couldn’t buy a robot vacuum from iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT) just yet. The product was introduced in 2002.
American Idol: One of the longest-running reality shows is the singing competition “American Idol,” which premiered on Fox, a unit of Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOX) two decades ago. Brady’s NFL career is older than the show that launched in 2002.
Call of Duty: While Brady could play the popular Madden NFL video game franchise from Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) every year of his NFL career, he had to wait a couple of years until Call of Duty from Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) was playable, with the first game in the popular franchise coming out in 2003.
PlayStation 2: Speaking of video games, when Brady entered the NFL, people in North America and Europe could only buy the first PlayStation console from Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY). The popular PlayStation 2 wouldn’t be available until October 2000, several months after the draft and shortly after the 2000 NFL season began.
Airbnb: Every NFL season, fans of teams flock to road games, often booking hotels in the cities of the NFL team. Another popular option is renting a home through home rental service Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB). The company launched in 2008.
Yeti: NFL fans who tailgated at Patriots games during his first few seasons had to look for brands other than Yeti Holdings Inc (NYSE:YETI) as the popular cooler and lifestyle brand wasn’t launched until 2006.
Grey’s Anatomy: Brady would likely be hard-pressed to find many sitcoms that he started watching when he began his NFL career which are still on television today. One show that comes close, but is still younger than Brady’s NFL career is “Grey’s Anatomy,” which premiered in 2005.
Related Link: Tom Brady Has Plans For When He Eventually Retires
Photo: Fernando Cesar Nox via Flickr Creative Commons
