Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) – 23 Things That Didn’t Exist When Tom Brady Entered the NFL: Tesla, Bitcoin, iPhones, Social Media and More

Tom Brady began its 23rd season in the National Football League on Sunday night with a 19-3 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, which aired on Comcast Corporation CMCSA-owned by NBC.

Brady previously announced his retirement from the league in February before announcing a month later that he would be returning.

“In the last two months, I’ve realized that my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG,” Brady tweeted.

Brady is the oldest player in the NFL for the 2022-2023 season. Drafted 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft on April 6, 2000, a lot has changed since Brady first entered the league.

Here’s a look at 23 things that didn’t exist when Brady entered the NFL.

Cryptocurrency: Leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin BTC/USD was founded in 2009, following a white paper published the previous year. Bitcoin’s market cap is more than $400 billion and one of many cryptocurrencies now readily available for trading by consumers, including on FTX app approved by Brady.

Twitter: Social media platform Twitter Inc TWTR was founded in March 2006. Brady has 2.8 million followers on the social media platform as of today.

Facebook: Social media platform Facebook, which is owned by Meta Platforms Inc METAwas founded in 2004, two years after Brady entered the NFL.

Instagram: Photo and video sharing platform Instagram, which is owned by Meta Platforms, was launched in 2010. Brady has more than 12 million followers on Instagram, but trails his wife, model Gisele Bundchen, with 19.7 million.

iPhone: Now one of the most popular smartphones in the world, the iPhone wasn’t launched until 2007 Apple Inc AAPL. Brady couldn’t own an iPhone until his eighth season in the NFL.

Netflix streaming: Now used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, the ability to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix Inc NFLX was not a reality when Brady joined the league. Netflix launched in 1998 as a DVD by mail service and would later add streaming in 2007.

Amazon Prime: E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc AMZN launched in the 1990s before Brady entered the NFL. The popular Amazon Prime service, which offered free two-day delivery and additional benefits to members, was launched in 2005 and is now a regular part of the company’s business.

Uber and Lyft: Ride-share companies Uber Technologies Inc UBER and Lyft Inc LIFT launched in 2009 and 2012, respectively. When Brady needed to get around the NFL during his early years, he was likely tasked with driving himself or finding a taxi, as the top two ride-sharing companies didn’t exist yet.

Tesla Roadster: In 2008, electric car giant Tesla Inc TSLA released its first vehicle with the Tesla Roadster. Two years later, the company held its IPO and has been a strong performer over the past 12 years for investors.

Houston Texans: The year before Brady entered the NFL, the Cleveland Browns were reinstated as a franchise, bringing the number of NFL teams to 31. In 2002, the Houston Texans became the 32nd team in the league to join as an expansion team. Brady’s NFL career is older than any of the current NFL teams.

Legal Sports Betting: When Brady joined the league and led the Patriots franchise to many successful seasons and to Super Bowls, consumers could go to Las Vegas to bet on the success of Brady and the team or take action on illegal offshore operations. A ruling in 2018 gave each state the power to decide whether to legalize sports betting.

Spotify: Music streaming platform Spotify Technology SA SPOT launched in 2006, several years after Brady joined the league and was already winning Super Bowls.

Related Link: 5 Things You May Not Know About Tom Brady

Lord of the Rings movies: One of the most successful film franchises of all time is the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with films in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The films grossed more than $1 billion domestically and were all released after Brady joined the league.

Harry Potter Movies: Like the Lord of the Rings films, the Harry Potter series was extremely successful. The first Harry Potter movie was released in 2001, four years after the book was published and one year after Brady was drafted by the Patriots.

Crocs: Comfort shoe brand Crocs, Inc. CROX was launched in 2002 after Brady joined the NFL.

YouTube: Type “Tom Brady” into YouTube and you’ll get thousands of results for videos ranging from highlights, interviews or commentary about the NFL quarterback. When Brady first joined the NFL, the video platform was founded in 2005 and now owned by Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGLE was nothing yet.

Roomba: When Brady joined the league and later had millions of dollars to spend on home furnishings, he couldn’t buy a robot vacuum from iRobot Corporation IRBT yet. The product was introduced in 2002.

American Idol: One of the longest-running reality shows is the singing competition “American Idol,” which premiered on Fox, a unit of Fox Corp FOX two decades ago. Brady’s NFL career predates the show, which launched in 2002.

Duty calls: While Brady could play the popular Madden NFL video game series from Electronic Arts Inc. EA every year of his NFL career he had to wait a couple of years until Call of Duty from Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI was playable, with the first game in the popular franchise coming out in 2003.

PlayStation 2: Speaking of video games, when Brady entered the NFL, people in North America and Europe could only buy the first PlayStation console from Sony Group Corp SONY. The popular PlayStation 2 would not be available until October 2000, several months after the draft and shortly after the start of the 2000 NFL season.

Airbnb: Every NFL season, fans of teams flock to road games, often booking hotels in the cities of the NFL team. Another popular option is renting a home through home rentals Airbnb Inc ABNB. The company was launched in 2008.

Yeti: NFL fans who attended Patriots games during the first few seasons had to look for brands other than Yeti Holdings Inc YETI as the popular refrigeration and lifestyle brand was not launched until 2006.

Grey’s Anatomy: Brady would probably be hard-pressed to find many sitcoms that he started watching when he began his NFL career that are still on TV today. A show that comes close but is still younger than Brady’s NFL career is “Grey’s Anatomy,” which premiered in 2005.

Related link: Tom Brady has plans for when he finally retires

Photo: Fernando Cesar Nox via Flickr Creative Commons