Imagine this, you are a star quarterback for a top Division-1 school, with a national championship under your belt and have your eyes set on making the NFL. You think that scouts are all over you, but they aren’t so now you wonder if you will even get drafted at all. One team does take you though, 199th overall in the draft, and now you want to prove to everyone that you should have been picked first. That was Tom Brady’s story before getting picked by the New England Patriots in 2000, and fast forward nearly twenty-one years later, and Brady has won six Super bowls, three MVP’s, and led the league in passing touchdowns four times, and passing yards three times. At the age of forty-three, one year removed from leaving the Patriots, Brady has managed to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl since 2002, and his tenth overall. Through all the adversity he has faced through his career, and regardless if he wins his seventh Super bowl against the Chiefs next Sunday or not, Tom Brady is the greatest of all time.
There are several things you could point to when arguing why Brady is the best to ever play the game. You could look at his stats, his accolades or the fact that he has been good for so long. The average career of a football player is about three years according to the NFL Players Association. This number is so small, mostly due to the injuries that eventually catch up to the human body, in such a contact heavy sport such as football. Brady is a notable exception to this, as he has been in the league for twenty years. Brady credits his lengthy career to strict and healthy all-natural diet, which has kept him among the league’s elite for such a long time. Even after a torn anterior cruciate ligament put him out of commission for the 2008 season, Brady was able to recover and return one year later and win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. When it comes to physical health, and coming back from such terrible injuries, Brady is the epitome of that category.
Due taking care of himself so effectively, Brady has been able to statistically be the league’s best quarterback for years. Currently, Brady has the most touchdown passes of all time at 581 with a 64 percent passing completion percentage. In the Super Bowl, Brady has the most career touchdowns, with eighteen. Even though the Patriots lost in Super Bowl LII, Brady had 505 passing yards, the most of all time in a Super Bowl. With such a high number of touchdowns from the past twenty years, the New England Patriot went from somewhat of a mediocre franchise to one of the best franchises in all of sports. Whether it’s a touchdown to start off a regular season game against Miami or throwing the go ahead pass in Super Bowl 49 in a tight game against Seattle, Brady always shows that he is the best quarterback in the league.
Brady’s stats have been able to not only pay off for his team, but his individual career as well. Brady’s resume includes six Super Bowl wins, including a 25-point comeback win in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, where he won his fourth Super Bowl MVP. Three regular season MVP wins are also under Brady’s belt, his most recent at the age of forty in 2017. Brady has also led the NFL in touchdowns four times, passing yards three times and passing rating twice, to go along with fourteen pro bowls. No other quarterback has such a resume, the accolades start to pile up when it comes to deciding who is the greatest player of all time is, and they favor Brady.
Ever since Brady won three Super Bowls in four years, there has been a target on his back throughout his entire career, making him one of the most hated but respected players in the league. There was even a scandal that accused him and the Patriots of deflating the balls, but Brady fought through the adversity, and continued to win, even this season in Tampa Bay. With Super Bowl LV fast approaching, Brady finds him and his team against the defending Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs and reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. Brady has been the underdog before, such as in Super Bowl XXXVI, where the Patriots faced the heavily favored Saint Louis Rams. This Super Bowl will not be easy, but if we have learned anything, over the last twenty years, it is to never count out Tom Brady. If Brady wins his seventh Super Bowl on Sunday night, not only is he still the greatest in football, but he may be the greatest athlete of all time.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcomed. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Anna Proulx aproulx@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu