Tom Brady at the premiere of “80 For Brady” held at Regency Village Theatre on January 31, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Tom Brady is celebrating his oldest son Jack's 17th birthday in a sweet Instagram tribute.
The former NFL quarterback posted several pics of the father-son duo enjoying activities together, including a game of golf. One photo in Brady's collection shows him standing side by side with Jack, who's now as tall as his 6-foot-4 dad.
Another image shows Jack sitting alongside his younger siblings, Benjamin, 14, and Vivian, 11.
"Happy 17th birthday to the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful 17-year-old, I know. You are truly a blessing in my life and I am so grateful to watch you mature into a young man," Brady began his caption.
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"Your love of family, friends, school, athletics, hard work and dedication to everything you put your energy into are just some of your amazing qualities. I love spending every minute with you and I cherish our time together," Brady added.
In parentheses, the athlete jokingly wrote, "Those are all my favorite things about you. My least favorite is that you can beat me in one on one now," before including laughing and eye-roll emoji.
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He concluded the post, "I love you always and forever, happy birthday, dad."
Commenters on Brady's post sent their own good wishes to Jack, with many noting the teen's height.
"Is he as tall as Tom? Go Jack!" read one comment.
"Happy birthday legend, stop growing!!" joked another.
Brady shares Jack with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan. He shares Benjamin and Vivian with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen.
All three kids were on hand to cheer on their dad when the former New England Patriots quarterback was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on June 12.
Jack, Benjamin and Vivian narrated a sweet and funny video ahead of his induction. The kids also poked fun at their famous father's retirement and getting back into the game.
“My kids surprised me this morning with this video, and I wanted to share it with my Patriot family too. What a ride. See you tonight New England,” Brady captioned the video posted on his Instagram June 12.
Vivian kicks off the video, saying, “Hey, Dad. We’re all so excited to be back in Boston this week, and I thought it would be fun to look back on all those amazing years as a Patriot.”
Benjamin then adds, “Six Super Bowl titles, I only remember three of them, but those games are some of my favorite memories,” followed by Jack saying, “Same here, Benny. But I know the rest of the family was there screaming at the top of their lungs during the first three.”
As the trio continue to praise their father and his accolades, they say that "most importantly, you were just Dad."
“So from Papa, Grandma, all your sisters, nieces, nephews, and us, congratulations on your induction to the Patriots Hall of Fame,” one of his sons says, before roasting him about unretiring.
“Just don’t get any ideas when you walk past a locker room tonight,” the video concludes.
The kids were also on hand on Sept. 10, 2023, to support their dad at a special ceremony announcing Brady's induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Brady wore his old Patriots jersey with the No. 12 on it when he was feted during halftime of the team's game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
His children honored him by wearing matching Patriots jerseys with his old number.
In June 2023, Brady told TODAY.com that he wants the best for his children.
“What do I hope for as a parent?" he said. "That they find something they love to do and a great group of friends who love them for who they are.”
“Fatherhood is a great responsibility — being available and present is the most important thing,” added Brady. “Something that I continue to work on is making sure I have enough time to connect. It’s always a work in progress.”
Here's what to know about Brady's three children.
Jack, 17
Born John Edward Thomas, Brady’s oldest child goes by Jack. Brady and Moynahan welcomed him in August 2007.
While Brady revealed last year Jack was playing high school football, he said on ESPN’s "NFL Live" in June he hopes his son doesn’t play professional football.
“I wouldn’t choose for him to (play football), because there’s too many crazy expectations that people would put on him, most of them probably very unfair, actually,” Brady said.
“I hope he finds the things in his life that allow him to get up every day to be internally motivated to work hard at something he loves to do,” he added.
Brady has long shared his passion for football with Jack.
In honor of Jack’s 16th birthday in 2023, Brady dedicated a sweet post to the teenager on Instagram.
“16 years of joy with the (sweetest, kindest, most loving etc etc 🥰❤️) son, brother, friend and teammate any parent could ever hope for,” Brady wrote. “You have changed our lives since the day you were born and everyday since has been such a blessing for everyone who knows you and is lucky to have you in their life.”
Brady honored Jack again when Jack turned 17 in August 2024, writing in an Instagram tribute, "Happy 17th birthday to the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful 17-year-old, I know. You are truly a blessing in my life and I am so grateful to watch you mature into a young man."
Benjamin, 14
Brady married Bündchen in February 2009, and the pair welcomed their first child, Benjamin Rein, in December 2009.
“When Benny came along, I thought he would be just like Jack," Brady told Men’s Health in 2019. "So I was like, ‘C’mon, let’s do this.’ And he was like, ‘Nope.’ And I was like, ‘What? No, do this!’ And Gisele kept saying to me, ‘Would you effing understand that your son is different?’ It was hard for me. I was like, ‘What do you mean? He’s a boy; he should just do all these things that I do.’ The reality is that Benny just likes different things. And it’s great because now I just have to go do what he wants to do. When we do that, we have the best time. He’s like, ‘OMG, Dad, you’re so funny.’ He loves joking, and I joke back.”
Brady has a forever football fan in Benjamin. In December 2022, the athlete shared a text message from his middle child, sent before one of his games.
“I will be watching,” wrote Benjamin in the message. “Say hi to me on camera.” He added, “Go and do what you do best. Kick some butt.”
Brady declared the text message the “best motivation any Dad can have!!” adding, “I love you, Benny.”
In a Sept. 4, 2023, episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast, Brady, who said he’s “always going to love throwing” a football, revealed that he and Benjamin play in the backyard as Benjamin was gearing up to get out on the field himself.
But, it turns out, Ben doesn’t want to be like his famous dad: His role model is Gronk.
Brady said that Benjamin has many talents, from being a musician to an artist, but last year for the first time he expressed an interest in playing football. Brady revealed that his son’s football idol is his former teammate Rob Gronkowski.
“(Benjamin) told me this year, ‘Dad, I’m playing football.’ And I was like, ‘What do you wanna play?’ And he was like, ‘Tight end. I wanna be like Gronk!’” Brady recalled.
After hearing the news, Brady shot Gronkowski a text, saying, “Yo, my boy wants to be like you,” which the former quarterback said Gronkowski “loved.”
“He wants to be a tight end like Gronk, and he’s gonna be a little beast,” Brady concluded.
In December 2023, Brady and Bündchen celebrated Benjamin's 14th birthday. The pair both took to Instagram to give him a sweet shoutout.
“My son Benny, can you believe it? Fourteen years old already!” Brady wrote in an Instagram slideshow of the teen.
“It seems like yesterday you were running around in your superhero cape, and now you’re definitely a superhero to me,” wrote Brady.
“You’ve grown so much, and not just in height (seriously, watch out @gronk),” Brady added, tagging Gronkowski. “You’ve grown in kindness, smarts, and all-around awesomeness. Your ability to make people laugh, your knack for solving problems, and your endless debating skills make you a force to be reckoned with.”
Brady added, “We love you so much. You are a blessing to us all and we adore you! P.S. No, you can’t stay up until 3 AM playing video games now that you’re 14. Nice try tho.”
Bündchen wrote her own tribute on an Instagram photo slideshow: “Happy birthday to the sweetest boy! You have the biggest heart and I feel so lucky I get to learn with you everyday.”
“Te amo muito,” she added in her native Portuguese. (Translation: I love you lots.)
“Ps. One day your baby will stand as tall as you are,” Bündchen wrote. “And you won’t be ready for it.”
Vivian, 11
Brady and Bündchen's second child, Vivian Lake, was born in December 2012.
Clearly her mother's look-alike, Vivian can even unlock the supermodel's phone with its Face ID function, according to a March 2023 Vanity Fair interview with Bündchen.
Vivian throws the football around with her dad, but she was quick to call him out when he got impatient with his former teammates.
“My daughter always says, ‘Daddy, you did not have a happy face out there.’ And I’m trying!" Brady said in 2022 on his podcast “Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald, and Jim Gray,” as reported by People.
He added, "I wish I would have more awareness of what the scowl looks like, but I’m doing my best to try to get to a better place and better peace of mind out there."
Brady also indulges his daughter's interests, including at a Blackpink concert.
"This is the most 'dad takes his daughter and her friends to a concert' picture ever taken," Brady tweeted, sharing a photo of himself in the crowd.
In December 2023, Brady celebrated Vivian's 11th birthday on Instagram. The football star paid tribute to his “little angel" by sharing a number of photos of her over the years.
“Watching you grow into the amazing person you are brings me so much joy,” he captioned the post. “You are always a bright star to all of us. Keep shining girlie girl, and never stop being the special, unique person you are. I love you to the moon and back.”
Bündchen also posted in honor of Vivian’s special day and included photos of herself and her daughter riding horses and doing beachside yoga.
“Happy birthday my little sunshine!” the Brazilian supermodel captioned her post. “I am so proud of you in every way. Thank you for making my life so much brighter!”
TODAY's Anna Kaplan, Nicoletta Richardson, Gina Vivinetto and Liz Calvario contributed.
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