Tom Brady paid a heartfelt tribute to Patriots fans after being given a thunderous reception on his ‘nostalgic’ return to New England for the first time as a Fox broadcaster. Brady spent nearly two decades in Foxborough, cementing himself as the greatest quarterback in history. He led the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships alongside head coach Bill Belichick and on Sunday, Brady was honored alongside many of his former teammates.The 49-year-old was in the broadcast booth for the Patriots’ 45-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers and before the game, players from the New England team of 2016 were introduced to the crowd.That year, Brady orchestrated a historic Super Bowl comeback, dragging the Patriots back from 28-3 down to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime. To mark the 10-year anniversary of that win, the likes of Julian Edelman were paraded on the field of Gillette Stadium. When he appeared on the stadium jumbotron, fans inside Gillette Stadium erupted into huge cheers and rapturous applause. The 49-year-old acknowledged the crowd by waving and mouthing ‘thank you!’ Later in the game, he said on the Fox broadcast that it was ‘nostalgic… to be back.'”I feel like I’m the luckiest man alive to play for this unbelievable community.” – Tom Brady in his return to Foxborough ??? pic.twitter.com/2rU3HcP5lo— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 8, 2026 Tom Brady was given a thunderous reception as he returned to the Patriots for the first time as a Fox broadcaster Brady was in the broadcast booth for the Patriots’ clash with the Green Bay Packers’I just can’t thank everyone enough for the love and the support over 20 years here,’ Brady said. ‘I feel like I’m the luckiest man alive to play for this unbelievable community… I had the most amazing teammates and coaches every step of the way. ‘We tried to take the field and do things the right way – a lot of humility, a lot of self-awareness, a lot of great clutch performances by my teammates. That’s why they hang those banners… they’re going to hang there forever.’Brady also paid tribute to Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who missed the festivities as he continues to recover from back surgery.’I want to say hi to RKK, I know he’s watching and the game is not quite the way he’d want it, I know if he was sitting up in that booth, he’d have a few little complaints.’Earlier this week, the retired quarterback was left off the list of those taking part in the pre-game festivities, prompting some fans to slam Brady online. He also risked the wrath of supporters with controversial comments ahead of last year’s Super Bowl. After the Patriots made it back to the end-of-season finale, where they faced the Seattle Seahawks, Brady claimed: ‘I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one.’After retiring from the NFL, Brady signed a 10-year, $375million deal to become Fox’s top NFL analyst. And he said: ‘May the best team win… I just wanna see good football.’Tom Brady gets introduced to the crowd at Gillette Stadium as the 2016 Patriots are honored prior to the game as part of the 10 year anniversary festivities for the Super Bowl LI Champions. pic.twitter.com/kQyUpCdUN3— Foxboro Finale (@FoxboroFinale) November 8, 2026 The 49-year-old NFL legend shares a hug with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye before kickoffHis comments upset some Patriots fans, given his long history with New England. But any fears that Brady had burned his bridges were extinguished on Sunday.Brady had not been to Foxborough since a preseason game in 2025 when his statue at the stadium was unveiled. Earlier this week, he addressed his return to Gillette Stadium, telling Colin Cowherd on FS1: ‘It’ll certainly be emotional. Every inch of that stadium I’ve been through so many times, from the locker rooms to the meeting rooms.’So many memorable plays in that stadium, big games, championship games, rivalry games, division-clinching games, so to be back there [is special].’