He’s widely recognized as the greatest quarterback ever to grace the gridiron, and Tom Brady’s laid-back off-field personality and charming good looks are just a bonus!
Brady’s 23-year NFL career is virtually flawless, but even this beloved superstar has struggled to maintain his championship hairline over the years.
You don’t need to be a Pats or Bucs fan to appreciate what Brady brought to the game, but his hairstyles haven’t always been universally acclaimed. Some suggest that Brady has undergone hair transplant surgery during the offseason, while others say that his genetics and disciplined lifestyle have been the source of his hair’s longevity.
We can only speculate on whether Brady had a hair transplant, but with so many images and references available, there’s plenty of evidence to work with. It’s time to huddle up and figure out if Tom Brady indeed had a hair transplant and how his hair timeline has played out over the course of his career.
Sports analysts have picked apart all aspects of Tom Brady’s career stats, but less analysis is given to his hair evolution over time. Let’s see how Brady’s hair has changed through the years and look for any indication of treatment or transplantation.
A young Tom Brady was highly confident in his ability to play football, but his physical presence and hairstyle were less impressive. During college at the University of Michigan, his hair was a true mop-top, going every which way with little direction or style. He also showed no sign of a beard until many years later.
A famous picture of a young Brady at the 2000 NFL combine shows his frumpy hair and physique that doesn’t indicate a future franchise player in the league. However, this late draft pick proved everyone wrong by a long shot, and his hair thankfully caught up to his on-field performance over time.
Brady was in his early 20s when he first entered the league, so he was likely not experiencing hair loss to any significant degree. Images of his short-cropped hairstyle show a fully intact hairline with a strong, symmetrical formation throughout.
By the time Brady was starting for the Pats, his hair had taken more shape, with a center part to accentuate his flowing locks. This hairstyle signifies the “early career” Brady, as seen in his rookie season snapshots.
It didn’t take long for the young Tom Brady to win his first Super Bowl. He was only an NFL sophomore when he won it all with the Pats in 2002. Despite his early on-field success, Brady’s hairline took a turn for the worse.
The beaming Brady is shown hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February of 2002, but his hairline has already started to creep back, particularly along the temples. While it might not be deemed a “receding hairline” by most standards, it certainly qualifies as a “mature hairline,” with some early indications that the trend will continue.
Luckily for Brady, his dominance throughout the following seasons overshadowed any issues with his hair, as he won another two Super Bowls in 2004 and 2005. By this time, his hairline showed signs of further thinning, but his close-cropped style minimized concerns for the time being.
Flash forward to the 2010s, and Brady was performing better than ever, racking up accolades and taking his game to new heights. While he lost three Super Bowls in this era, he returned to form and won another three with the Patriots just a few years later, putting him at the front of the GOAT QB conversation.
However, Brady’s hairline began to suffer in this era, especially around the 2014 season when he entered his late thirties. This is a danger zone for many men, as they start to see a decline in natural testosterone production and a higher conversion of these hormones to DHT. Brady’s hairline stayed strong for over a dozen years in the NFL, but the combination of stress and genetic factors caught up to him soon enough.
Images from this timeframe show Brady with significant thinning on the front third of the scalp and the beginnings of possible balding. Some images emphasize the difference in density from the center front third of his scalp hair compared to his hair on the sides and crown.
The best evidence can be found here if there’s reason to believe that Brady had a hair transplant. His hair returned to form within a year or two before entering the final stage of his career.
Brady solidified his status as the greatest when he won a Super Bowl with his new team, the Buccaneers, in 2021. His hair also held strong throughout one of his best seasons to date — not bad for the oldest player in Super Bowl history.
The fact that Brady won a championship at 43 is good enough, and all of his hair was along for the ride, too! The move to Florida may have helped reduce his stress levels since his hairline looked better than ever for the last leg of his career. He also grew a swarthy beard that helped lead his swashbuckling team to the top.
Although Brady finally announced his retirement in 2023, he is already active in numerous other businesses and signed on to be an NFL commentator for the foreseeable future. We’ll no doubt stay tuned to what Tom has to say from the booth and keep an eye on his hairline, as well.
We’ve seen Tom Brady go from a 6th round pick to a 7-time champion, but how did his hairline go from the verge of uncertainty to peak performance in less than a year? While it’s not confirmed, many experts agree that Brady indeed had a hair transplant sometime between 2015 and 2017, and plenty of evidence can be found to support this.
However, what details can we piece together about Brady’s procedure, and what lessons can be learned for your own hair restoration plan?
Even at its worst, Brady’s hair loss was moderate and kept under the radar. Considering the time frame (2015-2017) and his access to the top medical treatment available, Brady likely underwent a minor FUE surgery to “top up” the front third of his scalp hair and returned to the gridiron with renewed confidence.
FUE procedures are smaller and more targeted than FUT “strip surgery” and do not result in a horizontal scar on the back of the head. Given Tom’s penchant for cutting-edge health and tech, he likely got the best FUE treatment available and reformed his hair to its full potential.
An added benefit of FUE is maintaining a large portion of donor hair for future use if needed. Brady can go back and have at least one more FUE session to keep his hair looking good throughout his broadcasting career.
Brady’s hair transplant was likely not a megasession, and was likely between 1000 and 1500 grafts. Compared to the average hair transplant of 4000 grafts, Brady’s procedure was definitely on the lighter side.
In terms of coverage, Brady focused primarily on the frontal third of his scalp, where most of the thinning had begun. The surgeon likely doubled density in this area, increasing the number of active follicles per square inch, resulting in a thicker, denser appearance once complete.
Thankfully, Brady did not need a full hairline reconstruction since this frontal border mostly kept its shape throughout his career. However, his surgeon may well have added a few dozen follicles in front of his natural hairline for good measure, contributing to a more youthful hairline and better longevity moving forward.
We all know Tom Brady is a health nut of the highest order, so he likely took his recovery routine very seriously when bouncing back from his hair transplant. Case in point: he recovered fully from a knee injury in 2009 and won Comeback Player of the Year!
Knowing this, we can assume that Brady followed a strict diet of clean foods, exercised daily, used all the right meds and ointments, and stuck to the plan outlined by his doctors. As a high-level athlete, he likely saw rapid recovery and was back on the field in no time.
Tom Brady doesn’t mess around when it comes to recovery and routine, and when it comes to hair transplantation, neither should you! Aftercare is key to maximizing hair transplant outcomes, so follow the doctor’s orders and make no assumptions regarding recovery protocols.
A glance at Tom Brady’s stat sheet always warrants a double-take, even after all these years. He has aged gracefully in all areas and deserves to enjoy the next phase of his life to the fullest. We can safely assume he had a hair transplant at some point, but like all things Brady, he did things the right way.
Take a lesson from the GOAT and approach hair transplantation with the right playbook and professional input. Reach out to Jae Pak MD Medical today, and let’s get your hair back to championship form.
Sources:
Tom Brady, Hair Restoration and Ongoing Attempts to Find Brady’s Achilles Heel | Bleacher Report
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