Brady becomes all-time air yardage leader

New day, new record for Tom Brady.

The future Hall of Famer became the NFL’s all-time air yards leader.

During the first quarter of the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots, Brady connected with Mike Evans on a 14-yard delivery to surpass the previous mark of 80,358 air yards held by Drew Brees, who retired at the end of the 2020 season.

After Brady’s record-setting pass, the game did not stop and only an announcement appeared on the giant screens at Gillette Stadium to let it be known that the quarterback had reached 80,359 career air yards with that delivery to Evans.

Brady finished the night with 269 yards per pass, leaving the mark at 80,560 yards. Any additional yards he gets from here on out will only continue to add to his mark.

Brady came into the game, his first visit to New England since leaving for the Buccaneers last season, needing just 68 yards to break Brees’ record.

The setting couldn’t have been better for Brady, who received a standing ovation in his return to Gillette Stadium, where he played the first 20 seasons of his career.

Brady is the leader in wins (134), touchdown passes (304) and air yards (41,285) at this stadium after helping the franchise win six Super Bowl titles.

The closest active quarterback to Brady, who last season won the Super Bowl with the Buccaneers, is Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers with 61,149 air yards.

Brady currently holds most of the major records for quarterbacks in the NFL, including pass attempts with 10,739, touchdown passes with 591, as well as regular season (232) and playoff (34) wins.

In addition, Brady is the most Super Bowl winners with seven.

In his 22-year career, Brady has won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award three times, has twice been Offensive Player of the Year, has also been named Comeback Player of the Year, has three first-team All-Pro selections, 14 trips to the Pro Bowl and has also been recognized five times as Super Bowl MVP, the most in history.

Through their social networks, Patriots and Buccaneers congratulated Brady on becoming the all-time leading passer.