You could say Tom Brady took the San Francisco 49ers’ decision to pass over him in the 2000 NFL Draft personally.
In the most recent edition of “Storytime with Tom Brady,” the seven-time Super Bowl winner shared that he doesn’t carry any fuzzy or warm feeling toward the team he rooted for as a kid growing up in San Mateo, California.
“You know, my allegiance to the Niners left when they skipped over me six times in the 2000 draft,” Brady said. “Every time I played the Niners, I just wanted to make sure that the coaches who were out there at the time that you chose a goat farmer over me — and I never forgot that.”
The 49ers infamously took Hofstra quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi early in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft, selecting him 134 picks before the New England Patriots took Tom Brady with the 199th overall pick. Carmazzi quickly flamed out with the 49ers, spending just two years with the organization and never playing in a regular-season game. His playing career ended by 2006, and he became a farmer following his retirement from football.
Tom Brady on Bay Area Homecoming: A Special Win Against the 49ers
By the time Carmazzi became a farmer, Brady had already racked up three Super Bowl titles, creating an interesting — if not frustrating — what if for the 49ers. As Brady won three more Super Bowls with the Patriots, the 49ers actually had a chance at redemption with Brady and could’ve signed him when he became a free agent in 2020. However, after reportedly having an internal debate, the 49ers stuck with Jimmy Garoppolo as their quarterback, letting Brady sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 49ers wound up watching Brady win another Super Bowl somewhere else as a result of that decision. But they tried to add Brady again in 2023, with Brock Purdy’s status questionable for that season due to an elbow injury. Brady turned down 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s effort to sign him, though.
San Francisco wasn’t the only team Brady held a grudge against after falling to the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
“They all passed over me six times,” Brady said. “In fact, the Patriots passed over me five times. So, they were just one less than everybody else. That’s OK, it all worked out.”
Brady reminisced about the 49ers passing over him in the 2000 NFL Draft as he heads back to the area where he grew up this weekend to call Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and 49ers (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). While Brady got to laugh at the 49ers for passing on him, the roles were reversed in his last game in the Bay Area. The 49ers crushed the Buccaneers, 35-7, in 2022, with Purdy outdueling Brady in his first career start.
“We got our butts kicked,” Brady said of that day.
But Brady was able to gather a better memory from his playing career when he played at the 49ers. In fact, he said that the Patriots’ 30-17 win over the 49ers in 2016 provided him with one of his favorite moments from his playing career. Although the moment was nearly spoiled.
Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns in the Patriots’ win over the 49ers in 2016. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
“It hadn’t rained in California in like, nine months, but the moment we hit the ground, it rained,” Brady recalled. “It rained the entire day on that Saturday. We played on that Sunday and when I ran out for pregame warm-ups, I thought, ‘Oh, it’s going to be a little drizzle.’ It started to downpour and I was like, of all the times to come to the Bay Area, it’s pouring rain and I’ve got more family than ever at this game. I had so many tickets, probably over 100 people came to this game.
“We went out there and I went out there for pregame warm-ups and they started chanting my name, ‘Brady! Brady!’ I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.”
Brady repaid those folks by putting up a stellar performance. He threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns that day, with each touchdown pass going to a different receiver. It was also a good day for fellow California native and FOX Sports employee Julian Edelman, who caught eight passes for 77 yards and a touchdown from Brady.
“It was just a great team performance,” Brady said. “I remember kneeling on the ball on the final snap and I got up thinking, ‘Man, that might go down as one of the coolest football experiences I’ve ever had.”
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