(Photo credit: Bob Breidenbach, Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The long-awaited statue of Tom Brady, delayed due to scheduling issues, finally will be unveiled Friday outside of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced in June 2024 that the team would be erecting the 12-foot statue during that season. However, when Brady's new employer, Fox Sports, changed plans to send the retired quarterback and its No. 1 broadcast team to Gillette on a game day, the statue dedication was put on hold.

Now, a short ceremony will be held Friday ahead of the Patriots' preseason game against the Washington Commanders. Space constraints will allow only limited viewing, but the ceremony will be screened on the videoboards inside the stadium, ESPN reported. Kraft and Brady are expected to speak.

'We've had it in storage for over a year. We had hoped to do it a year ago, but Tommy is so busy. It was just hard to find a time,' Kraft told Kay Adams on the 'Up & Adams Show' last week. 'When he got his announcing job with Fox -- by the way, I think he's off the charts with what he's doing. How lucky are we to have the 199th pick [in the 2000 NFL Draft] be the greatest player to every play in the over 100-year history of the NFL? He played for us and he's just a great human being. We are excited to honor him before the game next Friday.'

It will be a nice culmination to a week of birthday celebrations for Brady, who turned 48 on Sunday.

Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships during his tenure in New England from 2000-19.

Last June, Kraft said the Brady statue will be the only one in the plaza.

'(The statue) will stand alone in the plaza outside of the Hall of Fame to symbolize his position, not as the greatest in franchise history, but as the greatest in all of NFL history,' Kraft said.

Brady was a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player who holds the league records for completions (7,753), pass attempts (12,050), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649). He added his record seventh Super Bowl championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season.

--Field Level Media