"I am eternally grateful. I am Tom Brady, and I am a Patriot."

FOXBOROUGH — Tom Brady will become the 35th person to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame presented by RTX. For the first time, the Hall of Fame ceremony will be hosted inside Gillette Stadium.

Patriots executives chose the 12th day of the sixth month as two of the numbers most often associated with Tom Brady’s Patriots career; his six Super Bowl championships and his iconic uniform number, 12

Here's a rundown of the night as it happens:

6:17 PM: Tom Brady just appeared on the red carpet with Robert Kraft, and spoke with red carpet hosts Jason McCourty and Deatrich Wise. Reminiscing about his time here, Brady said, "I think we all came in here, and we embraced the role that we had, the opportunity we had to create and do something special, along with great coaching, amazing players that motivated me, and drove me every day to be the best I could be, and I think that's what we showed the world that when you believe in each other, man, you can accomplish anything." 

As for Kraft, he retold the story of meeting Brady in the hallway after they had drafted him, telling the owner this was the best decision this organization has ever made. Turns out he was right.

Kraft also discussed the salary cap, and Brady's willingness to sacrifice for the team helped make the organization what it became, the most successful in the entirety of North American professional sports.

"He had a situation where his agents were pushing and pushing for him to get paid 30 to 50% more than we're paying. I said we'll do it, but it's better for the franchise if you take less. It's not going in my pocket. It's going to go to other players to surround. He had the vision to understand that and did it, and that's a big reason that we had an opportunity. He was not greedy. He really put the team first."

7:04 PM: Jay-Z is live and in person, performing "Public Service Announcement." You can't see it on the stream because of all these damn rules. Brady comes out a minute later.

7:10: Bill Burr is on stage, making cracks about how no one will surpass Brady, including the guy in Kansas City (Mahomes) because he 'doesn't like how that guy runs." 

7:26 PM: Mike Tirico announces Brady and brings him to the stage. The crowd starts chanting, "Brady! Brady!"

"It is so difficult to put into words what this night means to me and our entire family."

7:29 PM: Brady has to pause when he starts talking about RKK, his eyes getting watery. Then smiles and says he can't go there yet. He is scheduled to speak to conclude the evening.

"We've been through so much," said Brady. "And when you're in one place for 20 years, there's so many ups and there was a few little bumps in the road, but I don't think anything could ever detract or distract from what our love and our commitment to one another always was."

7:36 PM: Storytime. First, Rob Ninkovich and Patrick Chung. Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Vince Wilfork, and Devin McCourty are on the stage with Brady.

"The greatest player to ever lace them up," says Law.

"If we get him the ball, we win," said Wilfork.

7:49 PM: "This dude is nuts. He's the leader of our team, but he's nuts." - McCourty as he recalled Brady's competitiveness. 

7:54 PM: Playing a pre-recorded video, and when Eli Manning starts talking, the crowd boos. Ditto for Mahomes and Richard Sherman.

7:57 PM: Our first "surprise." Peyton Manning comes on the stage. 

"Tom pretty much got me most of the time we played, Mike (Tirico)." - Manning as Tirico talks about Brady beating him twice within a month in 2001, including 12's first-ever start.

Playing against Brady caused Manning to do something he never did: "I was praying on the sidelines. I never pray on the sidelines." But that's how much fear Brady caused even against the best opponents.

8:12 PM:  Dan Koppen and Logan Mankins take the sidestage. "On behalf of the 'o' linemen, it was an honor and a privilege to block for you," said Mankins. 

8:14 PM: The QB Room is introduced. Drew Bledsoe, Matt Cassel, Brian Hoyer, and Josh McDaniels. 

"He's one of the toughest SOBs I've ever been around." - Cassel

"Well, when you talk about his toughness going into games, that's another thing he learned from me," said Bledsoe. "That if he missed the game, there was some young punk that was gonna take his damn job so he knew that he couldn't miss again.

"I promised we were going to be nice tonight and not roast him. But you know all the great things about Tom: great teammate, greatest quarterback of all time, but you were the worst backup quarterback in the history of the NFL. You never understood that when I got healthy, you're supposed to go sit the hell down."

8:33 PM: Kevin Faulk and James White take the stage, and joke their invites to the Roast a few weeks ago must have gotten lost in the mail. They introduce Julian Edelman, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Gronk.

8:35 PM: An incredible standing ovation for Randy Moss. It brings him to tears.

8:41 PM: "I thought I worked hard until I got around Tom." - Welker

8:49 PM: "You're the only one that can bring so many people here together. All these ex-players, ex-teammates. All these fans. You are the only one in the organization that can bring all this together, and have a lovely night. So thank you for that." - Gronk

The big tight end mentioned how there were times he thought Brady was a jerk (when #87 was a rookie), but that all that pushing, all that attention to detail, all that work, made him what he eventually became. 

9:05 PM: Big smiles and a big embrace as Bill Belichick joins Brady on the stage. Crowd eating it up. Standing ovation. "Love you, New England, Love you, Patriot fans. Love you, Tom Brady." Ovation continues. That was in excess of two minutes long.

Belichick says he doesn't want to repeat the same stuff you've heard from everyone else tonight, so he starts listing off some of Brady's best plays.

9:28 PM: Belichick concludes his speech by saying, "“Thank you for all you’ve done for us. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. And thank you for the example and model you’ve been for all of us. You’re unbelievable. Congratulations.”

9:29 PM: RKK takes center stage. 

"What you have given Patriots fans went beyond pride. You gave us swagger." - RKK

"Tommy, when you first walked into the Patriots locker room as a sixth round draft pick in 2000, none of us could have predicted the extraordinary journey that lay ahead. Your relentless pursuit of perfection. Your unwavering commitment to the team, and your unparallel leadership on and off the field have left an indelible mark on this franchise." - RKK

RKK officially retires the #12. He is now the 8th Patriot to have their number retired, but, as RKK reminds us, the first to do it in front of 60,000 fans. There will be a bronze statue standing 12 feet tall that will be unveiled during the 2024-25 season.

9:44 PM: Red jacket officially presented to Brady.

9:46 PM: Speech time for Tommy.

Brady thanks the fans, commending them on driving down Route 1 all these years to a stadium in the middle of the woods.

Chokes up, saying he wishes he "had more time to give" everyone.

Brady running through thanks you for his family, his kids, his friends, Alex Guerrero, and now the Kraft family.

Chokes up again, saying they took him in "like he was one of their own."

Now to Bill. "Thank you for your tireless commitment to push me to my very best. It wasn't me. It wasn't you. It was us."

"There is no coach in the world I would rather play for than Bill Belichick."

More tears from Brady as he talks about the offensive linemen. Apologizes for making their job difficult. "You guys were the backbone of this team."

Cracks at funny at Edelman's expense, saying JE paid him 10K to say his name. "There you go, Jules."

Ends by saying, "I am eternally grateful.I am Tom Brady, and I am a Patriot."

Crowd to it's feet. Brady chants fill the air.