The GOAT knows a thing or two about excellence. I mean, he won seven Super Bowls. But the way Tom Brady presents it, all this little brother ever set out to do was outshine his three older “more athletic” siblings so they would forever be known “as Tom Brady’s sisters.”
This was one of the stories Brady recounted at the Las Vegas opening of the Fontainebleau’s new Hall of Excellence, a multi-sport memorabilia collection cofounded by the former NFL quarterback. He also recalled that his mom didn’t let him play football until he was a high school freshman because he was a scrawny kid and she thought he’d get hurt. There was laughter when he relayed this tale to the VIPs in attendance. His mom just nodded in agreement.
Brady also talked about his Michigan days and how he battled to get onto the field where he claims to have had “a decent college career, unbeknownst by any of the professional scouts.” He wasn’t drafted until the sixth round when New England took him with the 199th pick.
That very draft card is on display next to a couple game-worn jerseys and not far from all seven of Brady’s Super Bowl rings in the hall’s trophy room (Brady himself provides commentary on the audio guide about each season).
The Hall of Excellence—a collaboration between Brady and his sportscasting pal Jim Gray—is a one-of-a-kind museum celebrating the greatest moments and milestones in the history of sports and entertainment over the past half-century or more. Gray calls it “a destination to educate, inspire and entertain,” while Brady dubs it the “Smithsonian of sports artifacts.”
“It’s about celebrating the relentless pursuit of greatness,” says Brady. “These great artifacts were sitting in people’s closets for nobody to see. The reality is, they should be on display. Artifacts like these don’t belong hidden away, they should be shared with the fans who were along for the journey with us.”
The museum features a self-guided audio tour narrated by actor Morgan Freeman. Each item has a plaque with information about it but guests can take a deeper dive and scan a QR code to hear a more detailed story read by a number of athletes and celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Bob Costas and Jim Nantz.
There are plenty of shoes, jerseys, medals and trophies for fans to explore. So anyone who has ever wanted to see the Vince Lombardi or Heisman Trophy or a Grammy or Academy Award, they can almost (but not quite) touch it here.
Other items on display include:
– The bat used by Jackie Robinson to break baseball’s color barrier
– Muhammad Ali’s robe and gloves from his fight against George Chuvalo
– Kobe Bryant’s jersey from his first nationally televised game
– Billie Jean King’s iconic tennis dress
– Oprah Winfrey’s Presidential Medal of Freedom and her Tony Award for The Color Purple
– Championship rings for the Las Vegas Aces (2022, 2023) and Vegas Golden Knights (2023)
– Leotard worn by Simone Biles when she won her first Olympic gold medal
– A jersey from the night Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky for the all-time NHL scoring record with his 894th goal—signed by both players.
Located inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the Hall of Excellence is open daily from 10am to 8pm. Tickets are $35 per person, $30 for seniors, military members and Nevada residents and $20 for guests ages five to 15. Tickets can be purchased here.