50 Fun Facts About New England Patriots

Which Boston business executive was awarded the eighth and final AFL franchise on November 16, 1959?

He picked 'Boston Patriots' from a fan contest, and Boston Globe artist Phil Bissell drew the Pat Patriot logo soon after.

Which of these venues was NOT one of the Patriots' borrowed home fields during their AFL years?

The team never had a regular home in the AFL, rotating among Boston University Field, Harvard, Fenway and BC.

The Patriots' 1971 Foxborough stadium originally carried which beer company's name?

The 62,000-seat stadium cost about $6.2 million to build; it was later Sullivan Stadium and then Foxboro Stadium.

The Patriots' logo from 1961 to 1992 showed a Revolutionary War minuteman doing what?

The 'Pat Patriot' design later gave its name to the team mascot.

The Patriots' logo unveiled in 1993 is popularly known by what nickname?

Fans thought the gray minuteman's face with its streaming red, white and blue hat resembled a young Elvis Presley.

Which team crushed the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX?

Defensive end Richard Dent was MVP and William 'The Refrigerator' Perry scored a touchdown; New England had won three road playoff games as a wild card to get there.

Which Patriots quarterback replaced a struggling Tony Eason during Super Bowl XX?

Raymond Berry was the head coach that season, the franchise's first trip to the big game.

Who was the first special-teams Super Bowl MVP, with a 99-yard kickoff return in Super Bowl XXXI?

The Packers won 35-21; Drew Bledsoe threw four interceptions and coach Bill Parcells left for a division rival right after.

Which head coach left the Patriots for a division rival after Super Bowl XXXI, refusing even to fly home with the team?

Pete Carroll replaced him in Foxborough and lasted three seasons.

Robert Kraft bought the Patriots in which year?

Six years later he hired Bill Belichick, the franchise's 12th full-time head coach.

Before New England, Bill Belichick was head coach of which team from 1991 to 1995?

He also won two Super Bowls as the Giants' defensive coordinator, giving him a record eight rings in all.

In December 2024, Bill Belichick was named head football coach of which university?

His father Steve had been an assistant coach at the Naval Academy.

With which overall pick of the 2000 NFL draft did the Patriots take Tom Brady?

The sixth-rounder from Michigan took over in 2001 when Drew Bledsoe was injured and never gave the job back.

Tom Brady played his college football for which school?

He was born in San Mateo, California, in 1977 and played for the Wolverines from 1995 to 1999.

Whose injury in 2001 opened the door for Tom Brady to become the Patriots' starter?

That season ended with a 20-17 upset of the St. Louis Rams for the franchise's first title.

The Tuck Rule Game, the snowy January 2002 playoff win over the Raiders, was the last game at which venue?

Adam Vinatieri tied it with a 45-yarder through the snow with 27 seconds left and won it 16-13 in overtime; the tuck rule itself was abolished in 2013.

Which Raiders defender's hit on Tom Brady triggered the Tuck Rule ruling?

Referee Walt Coleman's crew reviewed the play and ruled it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.

Super Bowl XXXVI, the Patriots' first title, was the first Super Bowl ever played in which month?

The season had been pushed back a week after 9/11; the Patriots also chose to be introduced as a team rather than individually.

By how many points were the Rams favoured over the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI?

Ty Law returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown and U2 played a halftime tribute to the September 11 victims.

Adam Vinatieri won Super Bowl XXXVI with a field goal on the final play from how many yards?

Two years later he beat the Panthers with a 41-yarder with four seconds left; he retired as the NFL's all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points.

Adam Vinatieri played his college football at which school?

He signed with the Colts in March 2006 and won a fourth ring there.

Which two performers were involved in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime 'wardrobe malfunction'?

Deion Branch caught 10 passes for 143 yards and Brady was named MVP for the second time.

Which receiver was Super Bowl XXXIX MVP with a record-tying 11 catches against the Eagles?

The 24-21 win made New England the second team, after Dallas, to win three Super Bowls in four seasons; Paul McCartney played halftime.

Gillette Stadium, opened in 2002, was originally known by what name?

The naming rights went to Gillette after the dot-com bust; the stadium also hosts MLS's New England Revolution.

What structure at Gillette Stadium reaches 218 feet and offers 360-degree views of Foxborough?

The stadium seats 64,628 and hosted matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Which receiver set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches for the 2007 Patriots?

He broke Jerry Rice's mark of 22, and Brady threw a then-record 50 touchdown passes on the way to his first MVP.

Who ended the 2007 Patriots' perfect season in Super Bowl XLII?

David Tyree's helmet catch set up the 17-14 upset and left New England 18-1.

The 2007 'Spygate' penalty punished the Patriots for videotaping which team's sideline signals?

The scandal broke in the same season the team went 16-0.

Which undrafted rookie's goal-line interception with 20 seconds left sealed Super Bowl XLIX?

Russell Wilson's slant to Ricardo Lockette came right after Jermaine Kearse's juggling catch on his back.

Which pop star opened the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show riding a giant golden mechanical lion?

The Patriots won 28-24 and Brady tied Joe Montana with a third Super Bowl MVP.

How many games was Tom Brady suspended over Deflategate?

The team was fined $1 million and forfeited a 2016 first-round pick and a 2017 fourth-rounder.

Deflategate stemmed from the January 2015 AFC Championship Game against which opponent?

The 243-page Wells Report concluded it was 'more probable than not' that equipment staff had deliberately broken the rules.

The Patriots' Super Bowl LI comeback against Atlanta, the largest ever, was from what deficit?

It was the first Super Bowl decided in overtime, and Julian Edelman's diving catch off a defender's shoe kept the drive alive.

Super Bowl LI, the 34-28 overtime win, was played in which city?

At 39, Brady was the oldest Super Bowl MVP ever at the time, and Lady Gaga headlined halftime at NRG Stadium.

Super Bowl LIII, a 13-3 win over the Rams, was the lowest-scoring ever. Who scored its only TD?

Julian Edelman was MVP with 10 catches for 141 yards, and Brady at 41 became the oldest quarterback to win one.

The Patriots' sixth Super Bowl title tied them for the most in NFL history with which franchise?

The wins came in the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons.

Rob Gronkowski's 17 receiving touchdowns in 2011 set the single-season record for which position?

The 42nd pick of the 2010 draft out of Arizona finished with four rings: XLIX, LI, LIII and LV.

Which guard, drafted from Alabama in 1973, was the first Patriots player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

He wore No. 73 and was inducted in 1991.

Tom Brady left the Patriots in March 2020 to sign with which team?

New England posted a losing record that year and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

How many Super Bowl MVP awards does Tom Brady hold, a record?

He also won three league MVPs, in 2007, 2010 and 2017, and joined Fox as lead analyst in 2024.

Which quarterback did the Patriots select in the 2024 NFL draft?

The pick came after a 4-13 season in 2023 that ended Bill Belichick's tenure.

Which former Patriots linebacker replaced Jerod Mayo as head coach and led a 14-3 season in 2025?

The team beat Denver 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game before losing Super Bowl LX to Seattle, 29-13.

Which team beat the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX?

It was New England's twelfth Super Bowl appearance and first since the 2018 season.

When the AFL and NFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in which division, where they still play?

The following year the club changed its geographic name from Boston to New England.

Which newspaper artist created the original 'Pat Patriot' logo?

Bissell of The Boston Globe drew it right after fans voted 'Boston Patriots' the team's name in the winter of 1959-60.

What geographic name did the team briefly adopt in 1971 before the NFL rejected it?

The team settled on 'New England' on March 22, 1971, the year it moved into its new Foxborough stadium.

How did owner Billy Sullivan let fans decide on a proposed new logo at a 1979 home game?

The crowd at the September 23 game against the Chargers roared for Pat Patriot, and the streamlined minuteman design was shelved until 1993.

Which head coach led the Patriots to Super Bowl XX after taking over in 1984?

Berry's 1985 team went 11-5 and won three straight road playoff games; his successor Rod Rust lasted one 1-15 season in 1990.

Which Major League Soccer club shares Gillette Stadium with the Patriots?

Both are owned by the Kraft Group; the $350 million stadium was privately financed by Robert Kraft and opened in 2002.

What is the nickname of the 'Rivalries' uniform unveiled in 2025 for AFC East home games?

Its Storm Blue base carries six red stars along the neckline, one for each New England state.