ONE
To invoke the rebellious nature of America’s early colonists, in 1960, Billy Sullivan named his new American Football League (AFL) franchise the Boston Patriots. His team won five games in their debut season before reaching the AFL Championship following the 1963 season - a game which they lost 51-10 to the San Diego Chargers. In 1971 - a year after the NFL merged with the AFL - the Patriots moved to a stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts which remained their home for the next 30 years. Alongside the move, the Boston Patriots were renamed the New England Patriots.
New England Patriots Logo
TWO
Despite their early promise, the Patriots failed to find consistent success - making the playoffs just twice between the aforementioned 1963 AFL Championship appearance and the 1981 season. In spite of their struggles, offensive lineman John Hannah was able to establish himself as one of the game’s best - with Sports Illustrated dubbing Hannah “The Best Offensive Lineman of All Time” in 1981, before he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ten years later. The team eventually made the playoffs again in the 1982 season, but lost in the Wild Card round to the Miami Dolphins.
John Hannah, Offensive Lineman 1973-1985
THREE
Between 1982 and 1996, the New England Patriots only made the playoffs four times. However, of those four, two playoff trips resulted in a Super Bowl appearance. In the 1985 season, New England won three-straight road playoff games to advance to Super Bowl XX and take on the Chicago Bears. Unfortunately for the Patriots, they were no match for the historic ‘85 Bears, who won the Super Bowl 46-10. After drafting quarterback Drew Bledsoe first overall and hiring two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Parcells in 1993, the Patriots were purchased by long-time fan, and Boston businessman, Robert Kraft in 1994. With a new trio in charge, the Patriots got another shot at the Super Bowl following the 1996 season. However, New England lost Super Bowl XXXI to the Green Bay Packers, 35-21 - prompting disagreements between head coach and owner that resulted in Parcells’ resignation.
Robert Kraft, Owner 1994-Present
FOUR
After a three-year spell with Pete Carroll in charge, New England hired Bill Belichick as their head coach in 2000. Under Belichick, the Patriots boasted arguably the greatest dynasty in NFL history - winning 17 division titles, nine Conference Championships and a record-tying six Super Bowls in 20 years. Alongside the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history, Belichick also holds the record for the most playoff wins as a head coach, with 31, and the most Conference Championship Game appearances, with 13. Owing to their 20-year dominance and Belichick’s trademark hoodies, New England became known as the NFL’s ‘Evil Empire’.
Bill Belichick, Head Coach 2000-2023
FIVE
While Bill Belichick might well be the greatest head coach of all time, the Patriots’ success is also largely attributable to another key figure. In 2001, New England had just signed Drew Bledsoe to a 10-year deal worth $103 million - the then-biggest contract in NFL history. However, after a severe rib injury knocked Bledsoe out of the Patriots’ Week 2 matchup with the New York Jets, a former 199th overall pick in just his second season was forced to take over as QB1. That quarterback’s name was Tom Brady. During his time in New England, Brady won six Super Bowls, four Super Bowl MVPs, and three league MVPs alongside breaking multiple records to irrefutably establish himself as the greatest player in NFL history.
Tom Brady, Quarterback 2000-2019
SIX
On February 3rd 2002, the New England Patriots took on the St. Louis Rams and the ‘Greatest Show on Turf’. Despite fans and experts alike viewing the Patriots as obvious underdogs, Tom Brady led the Patriots to one of the NFL’s most historic upsets. With the score tied at 17 apiece and just 1:30 remaining, Brady marched his team down the field to set up the game-winning field goal - giving New England their first-ever Super Bowl title. In the following three seasons, the Patriots won two more Super Bowls (against the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles) becoming only the second-ever NFL team to do so. In 2002, the Patriots played their first game in the $325 million Gillette Stadium - with their new home witnessing the NFL’s longest-ever winning streak. From Week 5 in 2003 to Week 7 in 2004, New England won 21-straight games.
Tom Brady lifting the Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl XXXVIII
SEVEN
The next few seasons were relatively underwhelming for the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick-led Patriots - with the team failing to reach another Super Bowl until 2007. In one of the NFL’s most remarkable seasons, the Patriots became the one-and-only team to finish a 16-game regular season undefeated, before powering through the playoffs in the hopes of joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to complete a perfect season. However, the New York Giants pulled off an unforgettable upset, as they won 17-14 behind an incredible showing from quarterback Eli Manning and the ‘Helmet Catch’. The following season, Tom Brady tore both his ACL and MCL - ruling him out for the rest of the year. Despite Belichick leading the team to an 11-5 record, New England missed out on the playoffs. Brady’s return was marked with more early post-season exits, before they found their way back to the Super Bowl in 2012 - yet again losing to Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
Tom Brady, Quarterback 2000-2019
EIGHT
In 2010, New England drafted future all-time great tight end, Rob Gronkowski in the second round. Together Gronkowski, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady won three Super Bowls in six years from 2014 onwards. In 2017, the Patriots famously trailed the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 part-way through the third quarter of Super Bowl LI. Incredibly, however, Tom Brady and New England rallied back to win 34-28 in overtime. The comeback secured Brady’s fifth Super Bowl victory - meaning that Brady had won more titles than childhood hero, Joe Montana - cementing his legacy as the greatest quarterback of all time. Amongst their unparalleled success, the Patriots were involved in numerous scandals and controversies. In 2007, Belichick was fined $500,000 as the Patriots were accused of filming a rival team’s coaching staff in an attempt to steal defensive signals - going down in history as ‘Spygate’. The team was then accused of breaking the same rule in 2020, as a coach was caught filming the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline. Furthermore, in 2015 Brady was accused of ordering the deflation of the balls used in that year’s AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts - a game that New England won 45-7. As punishment for what became known as ‘Deflategate’, Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season.
NINE
The Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era came to an anticlimactic conclusion in the playoffs following the 2019 season. Brady threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the dying moments against the Tennessee Titans, sealing their Wild Card defeat. That summer, Brady left the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - where he won his seventh Super Bowl in his first season with Tampa Bay. Belichick remained in New England, but was unable to recover from Brady’s departure, despite the best efforts of first-round quarterback Mac Jones. Following yet another poor season in 2023 - which saw the Patriots finish last in the AFC East for the first time since 2000 - the franchise parted ways with Belichick. With former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo now in charge, New England selected quarterback Drake Maye with the third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Could a new era of football in New England be upon us?
Drake Maye, Quarterback 2024-Present
BEFORE YOU GO
The Patriots have become known for their ‘End Zone Militia’ - 10 American Revolutionary War reenactors that stand at each end of the field at Gillette Stadium, and fire muskets into the air whenever the Patriots score.
In 2023 Forbes named New England the second most valuable NFL team at $7 billion.
Despite the Patriots success, Gillette Stadium has the ninth smallest capacity of all NFL stadiums, with a maximum attendance of 66,829.
