A statue. A road named after him. And above all, an evening in the summer at Gillette Stadium all to celebrate his career.

Perhaps when he’s inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame and, of course, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, that’s what the New England Patriots and the region will do for Tom Brady.

This may just the beginning of a multi-year celebration. But for now, we settle for a halftime ceremony on Sunday, tons of noise and Brady chants, a speech by owner Robert Kraft, etc. It will be interesting to see what impact, if any, all of this has on the season opener vs. the Eagles.

Meanwhile, you’ll see Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Danny Ammendola, Ty Law, etc. – a lot of Brady’s former teammates – on hand or in the vicinity. There will be some celebrating going on all weekend, you can be sure.

“A lot of gratitude,” Brady said in a podcast early this past week. “I had two decades of incredible life-changing, altering experiences. I have so many memories from my time there. Memories with people there. I’m creating a new memory with people there.”

It’s a happy return.

“To go back to that stadium and bring my kids and my family in a different way,” Brady said. “I’ve not been back to that stadium in this way ever. I went there as a player. I went there once as a competitor. And now I’m going there really as a fan and then I’m going to be there as a broadcaster.”

That was really the first time we heard Brady talk about his future FOX career (Greg Olsen deserves better, but we’ll see). This is a different life for Brady away from the sidelines, and he admits it is taking some getting used to.

There’s all sorts of Brady stories to be recounted, tons of press conferences, good (after playoff wins) and bad (after playoff losses, especially his final one as a Patriot). Remember, this is the first NFL season without Brady on the field since his rookie year of 2000, and as a regular since 2001. It’s change, and he certainly is experiencing that with us.

“I think part of life is growing in different ways, expanding in different ways, trying new things and getting outside of your comfort zone,” he said. “It’s OK. … I’m going to work really hard in this part of my career.”

He admits anything he tries he may not succeed in right away. “The first time I threw a football, I was not very good at it,” he said. “The first time I tried a math equation, I wasn’t very good at it. In different ways, the first time you try anything, it’s not going to be the easiest way, and you’re going to have to keep working at it.”

There will be plenty of celebrating in Foxoborough this weekend with Tom Brady being honored at halftime of Sunday’s Patriots season opener at Gillette Stadium. (AP photo)

There will be plenty of celebrating in Foxoborough this weekend with Tom Brady being honored at halftime of Sunday’s Patriots season opener at Gillette Stadium. (AP photo)

Humorously, the first time Brady tried to retire, he wasn’t very good at it, right? To the point that after he did it a second time, people still didn’t believe him. Believe, he’s not coming back to compete. As tempting as it may be, Brady, we guess, realizes there’s a time and a place for everything, and the time now is for him to spend more time with his family/kids.

It’s too bad he has to share the limelight with a season opener. Remember how the Celtics honored Larry Bird, they gave him a night at the Garden, no game, etc. Just some 18,000 fans cheering him on.

Could the Patriots fill Gillette with some 60,000 for Brady as a ticketed event? Maybe, maybe not. As a free one, definitely, and the best thing for it would be sometime in August during the preseason. The guess is they certainly won’t use the Patriots Place plaza as the spot when he is inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.

Kraft wanted the old corny one-day contract/retire as a Patriot deal, but Brady evidently didn’t want that. So this is what the owner opted for, and like we said, it’s just the start. If the Patriots somehow upset the Eagles, somehow, some way Brady will get some of the credit for it.

And now he gets used to being on the sidelines – and a part owner. Remember, he’s got a minority state in the Vegas Raiders.

“I don’t think it’s going to be hard to be a fan, though,” he said. “I love the sport, and I love the Patriots. So, going up there to see a lot of my friends and family is going to be a great experience.”

Hopefully, if things work out right, it will be the first of many happy returns.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.