Tom Brady returns to New England: Legend kicks off new Patriots pregame tradition by ringing lighthouse bell

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There is a new tradition in Foxborough. As part of the renovations at Gillette Stadium on the north end side of the facility, the club installed a monstrous new lighthouse where the team will have a Keeper of the Light, who rings the bell to fire up those in attendance. And who was the first Keeper of the Light to kick off this new pregame tradition? Of course, it had to be Tom Brady. 

The franchise icon is making his return to the Patriots during their Week 1 opener and will be honored by the team at halftime. With him in-house, it makes all the sense in the world that the team gave him the groundbreaking moment. 

Brady is said to have roughly 20 members of his family in attendance for the festivities. Robert Kraft noted earlier in the week that the Patriots are “going to do something special and unique with him.”

“I’m excited because our fans never really got a chance to say goodbye in a proper way,” Kraft said

The 46-year-old announced his retirement from the NFL this offseason after 23 seasons in the league. The bulk of that time came as a member of the Patriots, who he helped lead to the franchise’s six Super Bowl titles and maintained over two decades of dominance within the conference. Brady, who finished out his career with a three-year stint with the Buccaneers and won a seventh title with the team in 2020, retires as the league’s most accomplished player. He finished with the most wins by a quarterback, most career completions, touchdowns, and passing yards. 

Naturally, Brady is also the leader in essentially every meaningful stat in Patriots franchise history as well.

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