Tom Brady to Get His Own 'The Last Dance' Documentary as ESPN Reveals 'Man in the Arena' Will Air in 2021
Tom Brady will soon join Michael Jordan in the pantheon of American sports icons having their own documentary. On Thursday, ESPN announced that a documentary about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback's career is in production and set to air in 2021.
Like The Last Dance, ESPN's 10-part documentary chronicling Jordan's final season with the Chicago Bulls which ended on Sunday, Man in the Arena will feature first-hand accounts of the crucial moments in Brady's career.
The nine-part documentary will chart the 42-year-old's journey from sixth-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft to becoming arguably the greatest quarterback in the history of football. It will include each of Brady's nine trips to the Super Bowl, which returned a record six rings.
At the time of writing, ESPN had not confirmed who will feature in the documentary. A host of Jordan's former teammates and adversaries featured in The Last Dance, along with former Chicago Bulls head coaches Doug Collins and Phil Jackson, team owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and various members of the media.
Similarly, the producers did not specify whether the documentary will cover Brady's departure from New England in March, when he left the Patriots after 20 years to become a free agent and sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Should ESPN follow the same approach it adopted for The Last Dance, however, viewers can expect Patriots coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft to feature in Man in the Arena, which is produced by Gotham Chopra's Religion of Sports.
"Nine Super Bowl appearances over the course of 20 years is an achievement on an unmatched level," Connor Schell, executive vice president of content at ESPN, said in a statement.
"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Tom Brady as he reflects on each of those nine, season-long journeys and the pivotal moments that defined them.
"Gotham Chopra is a highly skilled filmmaker who I am confident will bring to life this story of an icon in a new and revealing way."
The documentary is co-produced by Brady's recently formed 199 Productions company.
"Through the series, we're defining the key moments and challenges that were seemingly insurmountable, but through hard work and perseverance, became career-defining triumphs, in both victory and defeat," the quarterback said.
"This compelling and powerful show will entertain, inspire and have you on the edge of your seat. We can't wait to share it with the world."
The decision to include Brady's company as a co-producer could leave the documentary open to criticism, as was the case for The Last Dance, which some have accused of not delivering the kind of tell-all, no-holds-barred TV that was expected.
Last month, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns told The Wall Street Journal that the fact Jordan's company Jump 23 and the NBA were involved in the production was "not how you do good journalism."
Jordan's former teammates Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen have both criticized their portrayal in the documentary.
During an interview with ESPN 1000's Kap and Co radio show on Tuesday, the former claimed "90 percent of the documentary was b******t" and that it had been edited to make Jordan look better.
A day later, Kap and Co host David Kaplan said Pippen was "beyond livid" at his portrayal in the documentary.
"He [Pippen] is so angry at Michael [Jordan] and how he was portrayed, called selfish, called this, called that, that he's furious that he participated and did not realize what he was getting himself into," Kaplan said.
