As much as it pains me to say it, John Elway is no longer the greatest quarterback in National Football League history. He’s still my GOAT, though.
No, Tom Brady is the true GOAT. Simply put, Brady is the best to ever do it and he proved it so many times. He capped off his career on Feb. 1 by announcing his retirement from the sport, signing a ceremonial one-day contract with the New England Patriots to ensure he retired as a member of the team that gave him his chance to become a star.
Brady made the decision official on his Instagram account, saying the following:
“I’ve done a lot of reflecting the past week and have asked myself difficult questions. And I am so proud of what we have achieved. My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors, and fans deserve 100 per cent of me, but right now, it’s best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes.”
The rumours and the what-ifs began a few days prior but, as we all know, if ifs-and-buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas. It had to come from Brady himself or else I wouldn’t believe it. On his podcast, he hinted at it by saying he was still going through the process, but the result of that process was made apparent on Feb. 1.
There is no questioning his greatness: he’s the all-time leader in games won by a pivot in both the regular-season and post-season, 15-time Pro Bowl pick, all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns and then there’s the Super Bowls, seven of them, to be exact.
That last part is the biggest of them all. No quarterback — no player for that matter — has won more NFL championships. Here’s an interesting stat for you to chew on: Brady has more Super Bowl rings than any other team ever. Brady’s seven is one more than the Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, both of which have six. Of course, Brady led the Patriots to all six of those wins before departing two years ago to head to Tampa Bay, where he led the Buccaneers to victory last year.
He departs at age 44, and there was no indication he was getting long in the tooth after 22 seasons. He could have easily come back for a 23rd season with whoever he wanted. He was in tremendous shape, one of his hallmarks courtesy of that ridiculous diet called the TB12 — a high-protein, plant-based regimen that excludes gluten, dairy, corn, soy, MSG, coffee, alcohol, GMOs, sugar, trans fats, overly processed foods to name a few items — but it seemed to work for him.
All of this is rather impressive for someone who was a sixth-round draft pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. You know how popular he was at the start? The Madden 2001 video game labeled him as “QB No. 12.” His rating will have increased over time. Who knows how great he would have been had Drew Bledsoe not gone down with an injury during the 2001 season in a game versus the New York Jets. That’s where the legend was born. Bledsoe was the face of the franchise and did help lead the team back to respectability but that would all be forgotten after Brady became the guy. Bledsoe would move on to Buffalo, then Dallas to finish his career.
Brady, on the other hand, yeah.
Halls of fame always have provisions where the waiting period before induction can be waived in certain circumstances. The Hockey Hall of Fame, for example, has done so for players like Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. The National Baseball Hall of Fame did it for Roberto Clemente. The Pro Football Hall of Fame should consider it for Brady. He may come back and play afterward because as much as Brady will tell you he’s done, athletes are a funny bunch. They never really leave. If he ever did come back, he would instantly be one of the best players on the field.
John Elway, I still love you, but Tom Brady is the GOAT. Period.