Picking a favorite watch from Tom Brady’s collection is like picking your favorite child. (“How would you know?” I can hear my grandchildless mother asking me now.) The QB great has always worn great timepieces—he’s been an ambassador for both IWC and Tag Heuer at various points—but his wrist game has gone to an entirely different level during the first few months of his retirement.
All year long, Brady has popped up in banger after horological banger. One minute he’s at the French Open in an absurdly rare Rolex, the next he’s at the US Open in a platinum Richard Mille. It’s been such a watch hot streak, in fact, that our Watches of the Week column might as well be called the TB12 Watch of the Week now. Brady is now, without question, one of the most celebrated star collectors around—giving even the likes of John Mayer a run for his money.
Which is why we’ve felt the need to gather as many of Brady’s mind-blowing pieces in one place for your viewing pleasure. From ultra-rare vintage references to brand-new, zeitgeisty grails, here’s a closer look at the GOAT’s incredible collection. Best of luck picking a favorite.
It’s tough to argue with a classic model dressed up in fancy duds. To wit, this solid-gold, iced-out version of the Rolex GMT Master II, reference 126755SARU seen on Brady’s wrist at Michael Rubin’s Reform Alliance casino night this past week. Though the GMT-Master was born as a pure tool watch for Pan Am pilots to use while criss-crossing Jet Age skies, it’s since become largely a luxury item and status symbol—a truth that couldn’t be better epitomized by by a 40mm 18-karat rose gold case, a pavé diamond dial and matching bracelet, and a “Pepsi” bezel formed by sapphires and rubies. And though its COSC-certified, automatic movement will still keep track of multiple time zones, that’s not really the point here; rather, this is an “F.U.” watch loudly saying “F.U.”
Spend enough time venturing down the horological rabbit hole, and you’ll invariably encounter the reference 2499 perpetual calendar chronograph from Patek Philippe. Lauded by many as one of the most aesthetically pleasing, elegant timepieces ever designed, the 2499 is the spiritual successor to the reference 1518, the maison’s (and the world’s) first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph that debuted during the Second World War. (Helluva time to drop a complicated masterwork, Patek!) Produced in roughly 350 examples across various metals in four series, certain 2499 examples are multi-million dollar watches. Brady’s “J” example in yellow gold, rocked with a tuxedo, looks absolutely killer.
While there’s certainly talk of a softening vintage watch market afoot, said horological-economic downturn doesn’t much affect the absolute rarest-of-the-rare pieces—the ones that hammer for millions of dollars at auction. Brady’s Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6241 “John Player Special,” seen on his wrist during a Patriots-Eagles game back in September, is one such watch. Nicknamed after the livery of the Lotus F1 car sponsored by the John Player cigarettes brand, this super special version of a “Paul Newman” Daytona features a solid-gold case, a black “exotic” dial from Singer, and—in this case—a matching, solid-gold Oyster bracelet. One of just 3,000 or so examples produced during the 1960s, it’s rarer than hen’s teeth, with a price tag to boot.
Whether you love or hate the Richard Mille aesthetic (curvaceous and futuresque) and accept or balk at its pricing (stratospheric), there’s little denying that the Swiss brand sits at the pinnacle of technological savoir faire. (After all, Rafael Nadal frequently swings a racket with one his wrist.) Check out Brady’s RM 012, for example: The result of two years of R&D, it replaces the traditional baseplate that houses movement components with a series of Phynox composite tubes suspended in a web-like structure. Contained in one of the brand’s typical tonneau-shaped cases and limited to just 30 pieces, it’s an incredible feat of engineering (complete with a tourbillon) that’ll set you back at least half a million dollars.
Back in 2022, Brady rocked a massive, 46mm automatic IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Edition “Mojave Desert” to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation tournament. Housed in a special beige ceramic case, this contemporary take on the pilot’s watch features an in-house IWC movement with an impressive 8-day power reserve.
We get it—there’s a disproportionately large amount of Rolex on this list. But our guy knows what he likes, and despite a brief sojourn as an IWC ambassador, he largely sticks with watches featuring a coronet on the dial. Perhaps no such crown-clad timepiece produced more divisive bickering among watch guys and gals this year than the Day-Date 36 “Puzzle Dial.” Released at this year’s Watches & Wonders and seen on Brady’s wrist this summer, this special version of the President features a champlavé enamel dial in the shape of a puzzle, a date window in which the numbers have been replaced by emojis, and a day window with the days of the week swapped out for positive keywords (such as “Hope,” “Love,” and “Faith.) Love it or hate it, this is the most talked-about watch of the year, and one that Brady certainly wasn’t going to skip out on.
Speaking of Brady’s turn as an IWC brand ambassador: Though that relationship has since come to an amicable conclusion, the GOAT chose a hell of a watch to wear during the premiere for 80 for Brady back in February—namely, an IWC Portugieser Tourbillon Hand Wound Squelette. An ultra-rare version of the Portugieser produced in just 25 pieces, the boutique-only piece was the sole member of the collection to feature a skeletonized dial. The watch also features a gravity-defying tourbillon, a development of Abraham-Louis Breguet in the early 19th century to improve accuracy in pocket watches.
As he signed his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, Brady wore the huge (and supremely cool) IWC Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Spitfire Edition “The Longest Flight.” Part of the Schaffhausen-based brand’s Spitfire sub-collection, it features a unique travel complication controlled by the bezel—give it a spin, and the local hour hand jumps to update to a new time zone.
Earlier this summer, Brady rocked a collector-grade, contemporary Rolex Day-Date that most watch guys will simply never get the chance to see in person: A reference 228396TBR cased in platinum, it features an Arabic dial with a baguette-cut diamond bezel and Arabic day and date wheels. As you may have surmised, this is a watch made specially for the Middle Eastern market, and is most definitely not something you can simply request from your local authorized dealer. Rolex made these special Arabic-dialed watches beginning around the 1950s but discontinued them in the 1970s; they were revived in 2016 with the introduction of this and similar Day-Date references.
Brady loves the Arabic Day-Date so much, he owns a second one—a reference 228206. Launched in 2021, it’s similar to the ref. 228396TBR featured above, but features a smooth bezel (and no baguette-cut diamonds), a green dial, platinum Arabic numerical indices, and black Arabic date and day wheels on white backgrounds. Measuring 40mm and cased in platinum, it’s paired to the famous “President” bracelet that the Day-Date has become known for, and is powered by Rolex’s automatic Calibre 3255 movement.
For the 2021 Super Bowl victory parade, Brady threw on yet another most excellent IWC—a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “SFTI,” featuring a black ceramic case, red accents, and an OD green textile strap.
