A little over a year after the New England Patriots inducted Tom Brady into the franchise’s Hall of Fame and retired his No. 12, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback will receive another honor Friday night.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]
Ahead of the Patriots’ preseason opener against the Washington Commanders, the team will unveil a statue of Brady, which will be found in Patriot Place Plaza, right next to the franchise’s Hall of Fame at Gillette Stadium.
Advertisement
Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced during Brady’s team Hall of Fame induction that plans were in place to have Brady be the first player in franchise history to be honored with a statue.
It remains to be seen how good or questionable Brady will look in bronze. The future Pro Football Hall of Famer is hoping he doesn’t end up on the infamous list of sports statues gone bad, just ask the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Dwyane Wade, Mo Salah and others.
Those sports legends are on the list of some of the most notorious athlete statues in sports history.
The statue of legendary Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray stands outside of Wrigley Field in Chicago. (Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB via Getty Images)
(Ron Vesely via Getty Images)
Harry Caray (1999)
The legendary Chicago Cubs broadcaster is depicted leading fans in a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” as he did many times at Wrigley Field. It also appears as if Caray is bursting through a baseball stadium with a creepy cluster of fans at his feet.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray poses next to his statue in the style of a terracotta warrior near a tennis court in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Visual China Group via Getty Images)
(VCG via Getty Images)
Andy Murray (2011)
A terracotta statue of the Scottish tennis player was unveiled in Shanghai, China, in 2011, much to the dismay of the three-time Grand Slam champion. “I thought I was better looking than that,” Murray said at the time.
Advertisement
There will be a second opportunity for a more realistic-looking statue of the two-time Wimbledon champion as Murray will be involved in the design process of the statue that will be revealed at the All-England Club in 2027.
Cristiano Ronaldo (2017)
To many, he’s the G.O.A.T. of the soccer world. In the sports statue world, he was honored with the G.O.A.T. depiction at the Madeira Airport in Portugal. The airport changed its name to Aeroporto Internacional da Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo and unveiled a bust of the soccer legend. The reaction was not positive and a new sculpture was installed a year later.
Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona has a statue in Kolkata, India. The 1986 World Cup in Mexico, which Maradona helped the Argentine team lift, was the first World Cup to be live telecast in India. (Photo by Samir Jana/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
(Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Diego Maradona (2017)
The Argentinian soccer god was on-hand for the 12-foot statue’s unveiling in Kolkata, India. He is depicted holding the World Cup trophy. Some pointed out his resemblance to the likes of Larry Bird, singer Susan Boyle and actress Betty White.
Michael Essien (2018)
The Chelsea and Real Madrid legend was honored in his native Ghana by a local sculptor. Little is known about the inspiration behind the statue, other than to provide nightmare fuel for those who look at it.
Mo Salah (2018)
Unveiled in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the Liverpool star is shown celebrating one of his many goals with his trademark pose. Is it Salah or does it more closely resemble singer Art Garfunkel or Daniel Stern’s “Marv Murchins” character from “Home Alone.”
1999 Women’s World Cup hero Brandi Chastain poses near her honorary plaque during the San Francisco Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group via Getty Images)
(MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Brandi Chastain (2018)
While not a statue, this plaque of U.S. soccer legend Brandi Chastain deserves a mention. Chastain, who famous scored the winning penalty kick in the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final, was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. The image they used of her was so bad that she was asked to send a photo of herself in order for a redo.
David Beckham’s impact on MLS and the Los Angeles Galaxy earned him a statue outside of the team’s stadium. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
(Matthew Ashton – AMA via Getty Images)
David Beckham (2019)
Unlike the temporary statue put up by H&M when Beckham was modeling underwear, the one the Los Angeles Galaxy commissioned had the soccer legend fully clothed, though he did resemble Gordon Ramsay a bit. It was still better than the one he thought the MLS side was using, until late night host James Corden revealed it was a prank.
A statue of former Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade was unveiled outside the Kaseya Center in 2024. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
(Kirby Lee via Getty Images)
Dwyane Wade (2024)
The basketball Hall of Famer was honored by the Miami Heat with a statue outside of the team’s arena, Kaseya Center. The depiction of Wade was of him after hitting a game-winning shot in double-overtime in 2009, after which he stood on the scorer’s table and declared: “This is my house!” The problem was that it didn’t really look like him.
