The long-awaited bronze statue of Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium was meant to be a homage to the most decorated quarterback in New England history. In reality, it turned into an unforeseen meme fest, and somehow, Donald Trump‘s name was included in it!
In honor of Brady’s two-decade reign in Foxborough and six Super Bowl victories, the New England Patriots displayed a life-size statue of him on Friday. “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a moving tribute in the form of a famous quote that kicked off the event.
Tom Brady never misses a good joke, so he poked fun at past rivals like the New York Jets as well as former coach Bill Belichick.
After that, he then gave an emotional speech in which he joked that it was “the first time in my life that Boston’s sports writers will describe me as chiseled” and thanked his teammates, coaches, and fans. Brady was poetic, but online fans were much less sentimental.
On X (formerly Twitter), the statue’s debut prompted an outpouring of comments and some harsh comparisons.
Neither the pose nor the color of the bronze was the most shocking. The face was the culprit! Some fans insisted that this representation was more of the President than an NFL legend.
One fan wrote, “Brady’s statue looks like he’s mimicking Trump,” which sparked a wave of similar remarks. Another jokingly said, “OMG! Tom Brady’s statue is just horrible! It was the one leaked! Temu’s Tom Brady.”
Others were blunter: “What a fail,” and “Tom Brady statue: underwhelming.” It was even dubbed “hideous” by some.
Not everyone piled on, though. While some supporters stood by the design, describing it as “phenomenal” and “pretty cool,” it was impossible to avoid the question, “Where’s the Lombardi though?” which was a reference to the array of Brady’s championship trophies.
Tom Brady’s resume is unmatched: ⁰⁰7x Super Bowl Champion
5x Super Bowl MVP
3x NFL MVP
15x Pro Bowl
5x NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader
4x NFL Passing Yards Leader
2x NFL Offensive Player of the Year
3x First-Team All-Pro⁰⁰What a run pic.twitter.com/FSiYYh3mD0— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 29, 2022
In front of thousands, Brady spoke of his NFL journey, from a low-round draft pick to becoming a franchise legend. He joked about his 40-yard dash time, his age, and admitted “really old” players like Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi typically receive statues.
He expressed his gratitude to the Kraft family, stating that they gave him “a home” and upheld “the highest possible standards of excellence.” He praised teammates for their dedication, coaches for their demands, and supporters for putting up with rain, snow, and freezing temperatures year after year just to cheer him on.
But in typical Tom Brady fashion, the speech concluded with a joke, pointing out that his friends may still be asking themselves, “Yeah, we love you, but a statue? Really?”
Tom Brady’s new statue outside of Gillette Stadium
17 feet tall for his 17 AFC East Division Championships
Hell yeah pic.twitter.com/xXXKrjjANC
— Football (@BostonConnr) August 8, 2025
From Tom Brady’s bronze moment next to Donald Trump to Cristiano Ronaldo‘s notorious bust, statues of sports icons have a way of dividing people. Regardless of whether you consider it a fitting homage or a sculpture error, the response shows us that no matter how many awards you receive, the internet will always find a way to make fun of you.
While the unveiling may have been about legacy for Brady, split-screen comparisons with a president are the focus of the internet.
Between the speeches and jokes, the statue, like Brady’s legacy with the Patriots, is here to stay — for better or worse.
