Tom Brady won 6 Super Bowl championships during his long and storied career with the New England Patriots. He won one more during the final chapter of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now that he is in his first year of his retirement from the sport, he left no doubt about how he thinks of himself.

Brady was celebrated at halftime in the Patriots season opener. He told the crowd how he felt about the team. “One thing I'm sure of, and that will never change, is that I am a Patriot for life.”

There was no reason for the Patriots or their fans to think otherwise about Brady's feelings. Still, it gave the crowd at Gillette Stadium a huge lift to hear those words come out of the quarterback's mouth, considering he spent the last 3 years of his career with the Buccaneers.

The current version of the Patriots lost their Week 1 game 25-20 to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Pats gave the defending NFC champions a legitimate battle and had a chance to take the lead late in the 4th quarter.

Brady is largely considered to be the greatest quarterback in NFL history, a remarkable achievement considering he came into the league as a sixth-round selection in the 2000 Draft. Brady was the 199th pick overall and most considered him no more than 50-50 to make the roster during his rookie season.

After backing up Drew Bledsoe during his rookie season, he took over as the starting quarterback in his second year, and he led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title in his second year.