Claim: Tom Brady is a member of the NFL.

The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region . The Patriots compete in the National Football League -LRB- NFL -RRB- as a member club of the league 's American Football Conference -LRB- AFC -RRB- East division . The team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in the town of Foxborough , Massachusetts , which is located 21 mi southwest of downtown Boston and 20 mi northeast of downtown Providence , Rhode Island . The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium .   An original member of the American Football League -LRB- AFL -RRB- , the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of the two leagues . The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots '' ' after relocating to Foxborough in 1971 . The Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001 , then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season . The Patriots ' rivalry with the New York Jets is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL .   The Patriots have appeared in the Super Bowl nine times in franchise history , the most of any team , seven of them since the arrival of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady in 2000 . The Patriots have since become one of the most successful teams in NFL history , winning 14 AFC East titles in 16 seasons since 2001 , without a losing season in that period . The franchise has since set numerous notable records , including most wins in a ten-year period -LRB- 126 , in 2003 -- 2012 -RRB- , an undefeated 16-game regular season in 2007 , the longest winning streak consisting of regular season and playoff games in NFL history -LRB- a 21-game streak from October 2003 to October 2004 -RRB- , and the most consecutive division titles won by a team in NFL history -LRB- won eight straight division titles from 2009 to 2016 -RRB- . The team owns the record for most Super Bowls reached -LRB- seven -RRB- and won -LRB- five -RRB- by a head coach -- quarterback tandem . The Patriots are tied with the 49ers and Cowboys for the second most Super Bowl wins with five . The Steelers are in front with six .