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After leading the New England Patriots to their first Super Bowl in franchise history and winning SB XXXVI MVP, Tom Brady got his first official Sports Illustrated cover on April 15, 2002. An injury to incumbent starter Drew Bledsoe during the regular season opened the door for the late round pick out of Michigan and the 24-year-old rookie QB took the Pats all the way to the promised land. An interesting coincidence is that Barry Bonds, then with the San Francisco Giants, also appeared on this cover. Brady and Bonds both attended the same high school, Serra High in San Mateo, CA (Bay Area). CGC has rated this issue a lofty 9.2 on their 10-point scale.
Note: Brady was featured on the cover of a special Feb. 2002 Super Bowl commemorative issue right after the big game, but that is not a standard weekly SI issue so this is credited as his first official cover.