Is Tom Brady the Greatest NFL Quarterback of All-Time? February 1, 2017

Here’s a quick and simple take on why Tom Brady (-115), whether you like it or not, has a really strong case as the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL.

Read on, football freaks!

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What’s Brady’s case as the G.O.A.T QB?

Let’s first take a look at his resume in the NFL:

Four-time Super Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX)
Three-time Super Bowl MVP (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XLIX)
Seven-time conference champion (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016)
12-time Pro-Bowler (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009–2016)
Two-time First-team All-Pro (2007, 2010)
Three-time Second-team All-Pro (2005, 2016)
Two-time NFL Most Valuable Player (2007, 2010)
Two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2007, 2010)
Two-time NFL passing yards leader (2005, 2007)
Four-time NFL passing touchdowns leader (2002, 2007, 2010, 2015)
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2009)

Career statistics (regular season):

Passing yards: 61.682 (fourth all-time)
Touchdowns-Interceptions ratio: 456-152 (fourth all-time in passing TDs)
Completion percentage: 63.8 percent (14th all-time)
Passer rating: 97.2 (third all-time)
Fourth-quarter comebacks: 38 (second all-time)

Career statistics (playoffs):

Passing yards: 8,628 (first all-time)
Touchdowns-Interceptions ratio: 61-30 (most passing TDs in the playoffs)
Completion percentage: 62.4
Passer rating: 88.7

In any sport, it’s always hard to point at an active player and say “That’s the best player of all-time,” and it’s mostly psychological. The aura of a retired all-time great just holds a heavier weight in our memory and how we perceive how he is when compared to a player that’s still in the league trying to earn or collect stripes, regardless of how good that active player is.

For someone to overcome that, he’d have to be really good, like you’re-gonna-run-out-of-positive-adjectives good.

There’s a short list of guys that were able to do that, and all are of astounding talent – Michael Jordan in basketball, Muhammad Ali in boxing, Babe Ruth in baseball, Wayne Gretzky in hockey, Jerry Rice in football (as a wide receiver), and possibly Serena Williams in tennis.

TB12 can be on that list. Here’s a simple explanation why:

An athlete has to have at least two of these four things in order to be considered to be the GOAT or an all-timer: productivity, clutch gene, longevity, and championships.

The two QBs that people argue to be ahead of Brady in the all-time rankings – Joe Montana and Peyton Manning – both have all of those key traits. Montana leads that group as he has the most titles, with four.

With Brady, you’ll have all four as well, and then some.

Why he’s ahead of Manning:

Although he’s behind Manning in fourth-quarter comebacks (45 to 38), he’s still ahead of his longtime rival in SB championships (four to two) and conference championships (seven to five), and passer rating (97.2 to 96.5). Brady also has a good chance of suprassing Manning in passing yards (needs 10,400-plus yards).

Why he’s ahead of Montana:

Comparing stats, first and foremost, Brady is ahead in passing yards (60,000-plus to 40,000-plus), touchdowns (456 to 273), yards per game (259.8 to 211.2), and passer rating (97.2 to 92.5).

With regards to the rings, he’s still trying to eclipse Montana in Super Bowl titles, as they both have four. However, when you consider how much of an ageless wonder Brady is and how dominant the Patriots sill are, you can’t deny the likelihood of him retiring with more title than the Niners great.

The bottom line is this: the two guys that are really arguable in being better when compared to Brady, both fall short in either productivity or championships.

So, yes… Tom Brady is the greatest QB of all-time, or, at the very least, has a strong case to be.

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Is Tom Brady the Greatest NFL Quarterback of All-Time?