FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots unveiled a 12-foot bronze statue of Tom Brady outside Gillette Stadium on Friday, the culmination of a promise owner Robert Kraft made last year when Brady was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.

The size wasn’t a coincidence as Brady wore jersey No. 12 over his 20-year Patriots career, in which he helped lead the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships.

“This is quite overwhelming to me,” Brady said, before turning to humor, which he did multiple times over his six-minute speech.

“I feel extremely honored, deeply grateful and if I’m being honest, kind of old. I’m also a little surprised, because usually they don’t build statues until you’re really old, like [Mike] Vrabel and [Tedy] Bruschi. “

Vrabel, who was Brady’s teammate from 2001-2008 and is now in his first season as Patriots head coach, was among those in the crowd for the unveiling.

Brady reflected on how he had hoped to earn a roster spot after the Patriots selected him in the sixth round of the 2000 draft, and then said: “I never dreamed I’d be standing here two-and-a-half decades later made of bronze and frozen in time. It actually feels pretty appropriate given my 40-yard dash time.”

Brady also cracked, “This is the first time in my life that Boston sports writers will describe me as chiseled. So that’s a major, major win.”

The Patriots had hoped to unveil the statue last season, coinciding with a Patriots game that Brady might have broadcast as part of his role as a Fox analyst. But Brady’s broadcast team wasn’t assigned a Patriots game.

So that pushed things off into 2025, with the date picked based on what worked best in Brady’s schedule, and tied to a game in which fans could honor him inside the stadium after the ceremony if they desired. The unveiling took place 90 minutes before the Patriots’ preseason opener against the Washington Commanders.

Brady delivered another joke as he neared the end of his remarks, saying, “The statue isn’t just for Pats fans. It will also give all the Jets fans something to throw their beers at as they leave the stadium every year. Probably in the second quarter. Maybe the third.”

The crowd that surrounded the unveiling, which took place outside the Patriots Hall of Fame, chanted “Brady! Brady! Brady!” at multiple times over the 20-minute ceremony.

Kraft detailed some of the unique features of the statue, which he said he “wanted to be larger than life, just like Tommy is.”

It was created by a local sculptor who is a longtime Patriots fan and the granite base was quarried in Vermont, one of the six New England states. In addition, the shape represents the six Super Bowl championships, and it is 17 feet tall overall when including the base, which symbolizes the number of AFC East titles won in Brady’s tenure.

“May this statue forever remind us what Tom Brady did and how he made us all feel,” Kraft said.