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Tom Brady will retire from the NFL as the most storied quarterback to have ever played the game to this point.
His career with the New England Patriots was the stuff of dreams. He was even able to bring a championship to the long-suffering Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise.
However, the story doesn’t begin with seven Super Bowl championships, five Super Bowl MVP awards, and three NFL MVP awards. No, the story of Tom Brady started back in 2000.
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This story, to be precise, started with pick 199 of the 2000 NFL Draft when the New England Patriots selected Tom Brady out of Michigan.
Brady was part of what was considered a historically weak quarterback class, yet he was only the seventh player picked at the position.
While history has long since forgotten almost everyone involved in the 2000 NFL Draft other than Brady, five quarterbacks were chosen before him.
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We can account for Brady, but where are those other quarterbacks now?
#6 – Spergon Wynn (Round 6: Pick 183)
Wynn was the final QB drafted before Brady in 2000.
The Cleveland Browns took a gamble on him in the sixth round, but it didn’t pay off in the same manner that it did for the Patriots.
Wynn retired within six years after spells in Europe and Canada. He only threw one touchdown pass in the NFL.
Life after football has seen Wynn become an energy broker in Houston, Texas, where he currently resides. His work sees him act as a consultant for those who want to purchase natural gas and other energy products, which is quite the departure from the NFL and Tom Brady.
#5 - Marc Bulger (Round 5: Pick 168)
Marc Bulger turned into a serviceable QB in the NFL, but he was waived before the start of the 2000 season.
The New Orleans Saints didn’t consider their sixth-round pick worthy of signing, although he would sign a contract with the St. Louis Rams shortly afterward.
Along with Pennington, Bulger had the best NFL career behind the former Patriots QB, spending six seasons as the team’s starter.
In 2006, he had an outstanding year, throwing 24 touchdown passes and 4,301 yards.
His NFL retirement in 2011 didn’t end Bulger’s athletic career. The former QB would go on to take up curling. Bulger got so good at the sport that he attempted to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
#4 - Tee Martin (Round 5: Pick 163)
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Martin in the fifth round, but he wouldn’t throw a single pass in his rookie season.
2002 saw him move to Germany in NFL Europe where he would represent Rhein Fire before returning to the NFL with the Oakland Raiders.
He was released after throwing less than 20 passes and would never play in the league again.
Yet, Martin remains involved in the NFL. The former QB is now the wide receivers coach with the Baltimore Ravens, while his son is none other than Amari Rodgers, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers.
#3 - Chris Redman (Round 3: Pick 75)
Redman was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the draft, but he primarily served as a backup.
His resume will show him to be a Super Bowl champion with the Ravens in the 2000 season, although he only spent three years with them.
Ironically, Redman was almost a teammate of Brady's in 2004 when he was signed to the Patriots' practice squad, although he wasn’t given a contract.
Redman currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky, and his most recent claim to fame is featuring in a demonstration of tankless water saving units at his home.
He spends a lot of time assisting his son in his youth football career.
#2 - Giovanni Carmazzi (Round 3: Pick 65)
Giovanni Carmazzi was the second quarterback drafted in the 2000 NFL Draft after a promising collegiate career with Hofstra.
His entire NFL career was disappointing and was spent entirely as a backup in San Francisco.
He was forced to spend time in NFL Europe with Rhein Fire before the league disbanded.
Perhaps Carmazzi’s best professional period in football came in the Canadian Football League with the BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders.
As of 2022, Carmazzi lives just two hours north of San Francisco and works as a farmer.
He lives a life that is very much off-the-grid and is understood not to own a television. Perhaps he doesn’t want to be reminded of what could have been with Brady’s success.
#1 – Chad Pennington (Round 1: Pick 18)
The New York Jets thought they had emerged from the 2000 NFL Draft as the team best placed to dominate the AFC East.
Pennington arrived as the premier QB choice in the class, but he would fail to even come close to Brady’s achievements.
Brady would be the scourge of the Jets for the next decade.
Pennington was in the NFL for 11 seasons, playing six playoff games before retiring after a spell with the Miami Dolphins.
While Brady is still playing, Pennington is giving back to football in the United States and is working as the head coach of the South Charleston High School Football Team.
