A museum for excellence, brought to you by Tom Brady
LAS VEGAS — Ahead of the entrance, a small, headless mannequin wears a bedazzled Team USA leotard. Gymnast Simone Biles wore the red, white and blue uniform when she won the first of her 11 career Olympic medals. Just down the hall are a pair of Air Jordans that Michael Jordan wore during his rookie season. The scuffed-up, size 13 cleats that welcome visitors were worn by Tom Brady when the quarterback pulled off the greateast comeback in Super Bowl history. The voice of Morgan Freeman narrates a 33-minute audio tour.
The sports artifacts belong to the Hall of Excellence, a museum that opened Friday inside the Fontainebleau Resort and Casino, giving a city that has long trafficked in the sparkly and surreal one more place to gawk. The sleek non-gaming attraction tucked into a 67-story casino and resort is the brainchild of Brady, now a part-owner in the Las Vegas Raiders, and sportscaster Jim Gray.
During a tour that Gray gave to The Washington Post before opening, he said the idea for the hall came up eight years ago.
'Tom and I were doing a radio show, and he had just broken some record that came with an award,' Gray said. 'I asked, 'What do you do with all this stuff?' He said, 'I just put it in a storage warehouse.' '
That got Gray thinking about his own house in Los Angeles, which was overflowing with memorabilia from decades of historic moments. (He recently relocated to Las Vegas.)
'I started to think, you know, we don't have children … my wife has tolerated this all these years,' Gray said. 'And I thought we should share this with the public. Let others enjoy it.'
'Now we have a home that we can decorate without sports,' said Frann Vettor-Gray.
Las Vegas is of course a sports town now. When Gray and Brady decided to put their memorabilia on display, they called in favors, dug through storage and rallied a few famous friends to help create one of the most impressive semi-private sports collections ever assembled. The cost of admission is $35, with discounts for locals, kids, seniors and military.
The Hall of Excellence features 310 artifacts, spread across 26 themed display cases and a handful of freestanding showpieces. The last two items to added to the haul were golf balls signed by Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
What began with items from personal archives has since grown to include contributions from Olympians, MVPs, broadcasters, entertainers, multiple halls of fame and the White House.
'All these incredible items and stories deserved more than a spot in a closet or storage unit,' Brady said in an email to The Post. 'The vision grew from wanting to preserve memorabilia to wanting to inspire people. We weren't building a museum. We were building an experience that captures what it takes to be great.'
Everything inside the Hall of Excellence lives on a second-floor mezzanine at Fontainebleau, above the casino and en route to restaurant row. It's an elegant space turned fortified gallery, with priceless memorabilia behind two-inch-thick glass that we can only presume is bullet- and smash-proof.
Neither the Hall nor Fontainebleau would reveal any details about the James Bond level of security that must be required for such a display.
Upon entering, guests are provided a special iPhone and headphones.Beyond Freeman's narration, instantly recognizable voices queued up for exhibits include Marv Albert, Jim Nantz, Andre Agassi, Snoop Dogg, Oprah Winfrey, and others.
Among the objects on display, there's Babe Ruth's bat from his legendary 'Called Shot' in the 1932 World Series, and Jackie Robinson's bat from 1947 when he broke baseball's color barrier (on loan from Reggie Jackson).
There's also a golf ball from Tiger Woods's first Masters win; a ticket stub, media credential and scorecard from Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, and the Atlanta Braves batting helmet worn by Hank Aaron as he hit home runs 714 and 715.
Brady said Jackie Robinson's bat was particularly special —'that's American history,' he said — and the Woods ball is a favorite.
'I remember watching that moment and learning what focus under pressure really looks like,' Brady said. 'Those items go beyond the game.'
In this Hall, excellence isn't limited to just sports. One display features the dark, fitted suit Elvis Presley wore when he signed his contract with the Las Vegas International Hotel and performed that same night. The 1969 show marked his return to live performance after eight years of making films, and launched a record-setting run of 636 consecutive sold-out shows that redefined the modern Las Vegas residency. In another corner, there's Oprah Winfrey's Presidential Medal of Freedom.
When he was asking for favors, Gray said, partnering with Brady was key: 'Tom opens every door.'
Gray's career, though, has spanned nearly five decades. His reporting has brought him ringside, courtside and on the field at 10 World Series, 11 Olympic Games, 30 NBA Finals, 37 Masters tournaments, and 44 Super Bowls. He's been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
He's interviewed six U.S. presidents, often covering sports in the context of cultural and political flashpoints.
Tucked into a quiet nook of the Hall is a tribute to Gray himself — a reminder that sometimes, excellence lies not on the field, but in the voice that helps the world make sense of it.
At its center is Gray's copy of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, resting behind four of his 12 national Sports Emmy Awards.
'For the longest time that star was in the gym at my house where I worked out, behind the weights,' Gray said. 'I never got around to putting it by the pool as originally planned.'
Eventually all visitors will find themselves in the trophy room.
'Trophies represent the Holy Grail, the triumphs,' the Freeman recording bellows. 'They are symbols of excellence and all its magical forms …'
Where else can you see in one quick scan so many of these so close: the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the weighty Heisman, the Claret Jug, the MLB Commissioner's Trophy, U.S. Open trophies (for both golf and tennis), Wimbledon, the Kentucky Derby. There's a special EGOT wall that displays Oprah's first Emmy and only Tony alongside Clint Eastwood's Oscar for Unforgiven and Justin Timberlake's first Grammy.
At the center of this room is the Hall's culmination, and where much of the vision began – with Tom Brady's seven Super Bowl rings.
Each ring rests on its own illuminated pedestal inside a custom-crafted heptahedron that seems more shrine than trophy case. The display emits a soft internal glow highlighting every facet of every gem. Together they tell a story not just of Brady's triumphs, but also of an NFL that hasn't stopped growing in money or influence.
The rings increase in size and symbolism with each championship. The first, from 2002, is relatively modest: 42 diamonds circling the Patriots logo, engraved with 'World Champions.'
The final ring, earned with the Buccaneers in 2021, is its own vault of brilliance, showcasing 319 diamonds, 15 carats of white gold, and a removable top that reveals a miniature Raymond James Stadium, with the game's final score etched beneath.
'Honestly, it was a bit emotional,' Brady said about seeing them all together for the first time. 'Each ring represents a year of commitment, sacrifice, and teamwork. .'
As you exit the trophy room, there's one more case of Brady's personal memories. It includes his college letter jacket from Michigan, a comparatively humble Orange Bowl ring and his NFL draft card from 2000, where he was the 199th pick.
Dan Michalski is a freelance journalist in Las Vegas and editor at Casinos.com.
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