In 2025, online sports media blew up as a fellow ex-quarterback made public allegations about Tom Brady’s hair transplant [1]. Hair experts and sports influencers started analysing the athlete’s hair journey for potential signs of surgical intervention, to mixed conclusions. However, Tom himself chose to ignore these rumours.
Nowadays, it is not surprising to learn about famous footballers’ hair transplants. Since they are constantly in the spotlight, many want to preserve their youthful appearance and hair restoration surgery is simple and effective. Some openly share details of their procedures with their fans (e.g. Rob Holding’s’ hair transplant or Danny Ings’ hair transplant). However, others prefer to get a hair transplant without anyone knowing. Could Tom Brady be among the latter?
Keep reading this article to find out all you need to know about:
Tom Brady is a famous U.S. football quarterback who turned sports commentator after his retirement in 2023. He was born in California, in 1977, and was passionate about football from a young age. Tom began his career in 2000, with the New England Patriots. He spent 20 seasons playing for them (2000-2019) and 3 more for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020-2022).
His amazing football performance ensured Tom’s legacy as one of the NFL’s all-time greatest quarterbacks. Throughout his career, he helped secure 7 Super Bowl titles, was named 5-time Super Bowl MVP and 3-time NFL MVP. The footballer also holds multiple career records. He eventually retired from the field in glory, at the age of 45. However, he remained close to the world of sports, becoming an NFL broadcaster for Fox Sports in 2024.
In January 2025, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason alleged that Tom Brady had a hair transplant in Turkey [1]. However, there is little proof that this procedure ever happened. While Esiason did not specify a potential timeframe for the surgery, the media noticed that Tom’s hairline has become visibly straighter and thicker since 2019.
Tom Brady himself has not addressed any of these hair restoration rumours. And given the fact his hair loss has never been very advanced, it is just as likely that he successfully used hair growth medication (such as Minoxidil and Finasteride) to curb it. The different hairstyles he has been wearing over the years can also skew perception regarding the extent of his hair thinning.
Boomer Esiason seems to think Tom Brady went to Turkey for a hair transplant at some point. pic.twitter.com/LLSHurUtoH— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 31, 2025
Boomer Esiason seems to think Tom Brady went to Turkey for a hair transplant at some point. pic.twitter.com/LLSHurUtoH
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 31, 2025
The reason some suspect Tom Brady had a hair transplant is that around 2018, he started showing signs of an M-shaped hairline when sporting a buzzcut. Since Tom had passed the age of 40 at that time, it was not unexpected for him to show some signs of male pattern baldness (85% of men develop this condition by the age of 50 [2]).
Androgenetic alopecia occurs in men when a male hormone known as dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binds to androgen receptors in their hair follicles [3][4]. This leads to hair miniaturisation and eventually, balding in the affected areas.
Since certain parts of the scalp are more sensitive to DHT than others, male pattern baldness first causes a receding hairline, followed by temple hair loss and eventually, a bald spot on the crown [4].
Photographic evidence shows that Tom was still in the early stages of androgenetic alopecia, as he was merely experiencing some temple hair loss, but his crown and the top of his head were still well-covered. His M-shaped hairline could also be easily disguised by a slightly longer hairstyle and only became obvious when wearing a buzz cut. That means he was probably Norwood stage 2-3 at the peak of his hair loss.
While it is normal for every man’s hairline to mature with age, Tom Brady seems to always have had a rather full head of hair. That is why many doubt the rumours about surgical hair restoration. Here is how the former star quarterback’s hairline has evolved over time and how his hair thinning has progressed throughout his life.
As a child, Tom had thick, shiny, chestnut hair and a moderately tall forehead. His hairline appeared to be very straight and mostly rectangular, with a bit of natural cowlick which remains visible with certain hairstyles later in life.
Everything about the future footballer’s hairline was normal and youthful in his teenage years and he showed no signs of early-onset male pattern baldness.
As Tom’s professional career started taking off, around the year 2000, his hairline was still looking great. Even with wet hair, after a long, demanding game, he still didn’t look like he was having hair loss issues.
While for many men, male pattern baldness starts early, around their mid-twenties, the footballer showed no signs of a receding or uneven hairline or noticeable temple hair loss around that age.
Around the age of 30, Tom’s hairline finally began to mature. In this process, it became a little curved, rather than the straight line it used to be. That is because he started to lose a bit of hair around the temples.
Normally, one of the main differences between a mature and receding hairline is that the former moves up in a straight line (up to about 1.5 cm above its youthful position), without becoming M-shaped. However, male pattern baldness advances quite fast, which Tom’s did not. While his temples have thinned a little, his hairline seemed unchanged for almost a decade, until 2018.
This means the football star was either successfully using hair growth medications such as Minoxidil or Finasteride to curb his alopecia or his hairline had simply normally matured with age. Both these options are possible, as non-surgical hair restoration treatments can work quite well in men with minimal hair loss.
2010 was the only year in Tom’s time in the spotlight when he decided to grow out his hair. While some might speculate that he did so to cover frontal balding, that was likely not the case.
While a longer fringe can be a great hairstyle for men with thinning hair, photos of the quarterback with his hair tucked behind his ears disprove this theory. His hairline still seemed to look good, with no significant frontal hair loss.
However, as Tom entered his 40s and reverted to short haircuts, his M-shaped hairline started to become more obvious. In 2018, he started showing the first signs of hair thinning and balding that could no longer be contested. While there still appeared to be no obvious thinning on his crown, his temple hair receded significantly around his still rather full frontal area.
If the footballer ever had a hair transplant, it was likely to have been in 2018. Not only was he seen wearing more hats and caps than usual during public appearances that year, but in 2019, he was sporting a perfectly straight, youthful hairline once more.
Some hair specialists and sports influencers have argued that the only way to obtain this pristine effect was through a low-volume hair restoration surgery. However, others believe that Tom’s longer-in-front hairstyle helped him cover what wasn’t very advanced hair loss to begin with.
As the former quarterback is pushing 50, his hairline still looks amazing to the present day. Whether it was surgically obtained or he used hair loss medications to curb and reverse his alopecia, whatever he did, worked.
In 2024 and 2025 Tom appeared in public with full, thick, almost perfect hair, fit for a television broadcaster. If he really got a natural-looking hair transplant, he is probably very satisfied with the results.
If Tom Brady wanted to get a discreet hair transplant, he is likely to have opted for follicular unit extraction (FUE). Unlike follicular unit transplantation (FUT), which involves harvesting an entire strip of skin from your donor area and leaves a fine scar, FUE is virtually scar-free. That is because it involves harvesting each hair graft individually, only leaving minor puncture wounds that heal in a few days, leaving few visible marks.
If Tom had an FUT procedure, the tell-tale scar on the back of his head would easily have been spotted by the media when wearing buzz cuts with fades, as he did in 2019. This means that if he did get surgical hair restoration, it was most likely FUE. This procedure can be more time-consuming than FUT, but it has advantages such as shorter hair transplant recovery time, reduced postoperative pain and minimal hair transplant scars.
Since Tom Brady’s hair loss was mild, there would have been no need for a large volume of hair grafts. He would only have needed to improve hair density on his temples to correct his M-shaped hairline. This means that a 1000-graft hair transplant would have likely sufficed.
If you are in a similar hair loss situation as Tom Brady and are wondering how many hair grafts you would need to restore your hair coverage, you can get a ballpark idea using the above chart. However, please know that the number of hair grafts required for good coverage depends on several factors, including your hair texture and thickness. So only a surgeon can give you a correct estimation, after carefully examining your scalp and hair.
It is difficult to estimate how much the former quarterback might have paid for his hair restoration surgery, as many factors can influence hair transplant costs:
The average UK hair transplant cost for Norwood stage 2-3 hair loss, the kind Tom might have had, is £4,820. But it is not uncommon for celebrities such as himself to choose high-end clinics, where the price for this procedure can reach as high as £15.000.
However, Boomer Esiason claimed that Tom Brady had his hair transplant in Turkey. This means he may have enjoyed lower hair transplant costs in Turkey compared to the UK, as this country is known for its low-cost cosmetic procedures.
If Tom really had hair restoration surgery abroad, he probably went to a well-reputed clinic, where he likely paid a fair amount for excellent results. However, be aware that low hair transplant costs in Turkey are often not worth the risks. Many black market clinics offer quotes that seem too good to be true. That is because they often hire inexperienced technicians to perform the procedures and cut corners when it comes to patient health and safety.
That is why, according to a British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons practitioner survey conducted in 2021 [5], all the patients with post-op complications they treated had their plastic surgeries in Turkey.
If you want to regain your full, healthy head of hair that turns heads like Tom Brady’s, we are here to help. Book a free, no-obligation hair transplant consultation with one of our world-class surgeons and they will walk you through every step of the procedure. They will also provide a realistic assessment of the expected results for your hair loss.
When choosing a hair clinic for your procedure, keep in mind that a hair transplant is permanent, so it is a lifelong investment in your appearance. We at the Wimpole Clinic take great pride in our 50-year legacy of top-tier hair restoration surgery. Our almost 100% success rate shows you can be confident that you will still be able to enjoy your hair transplant after 10 years and many more to come. Our before and after hair transplant gallery is testament to the results we can help you achieve.
Are you curious how other celebrity hair transplants have turned out? Here are some more famous people who had their hair surgically restored:
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