I know this has been said multiple times over the past few years, but there is absolutely no question about Tom Brady being the G.O.A.T. I don’t have to dig into his career passing numbers, so instead I will be looking at his wins, his losses, what he’s done to help the Patriots as an organization, and what makes him truly the G.O.A.T. Brady isn’t a selfish player and he’s not playing for records. His goal is to be the best quarterback and the best teammate for the Patriots in order to help them be successful and win!
Brady has had a chip on his shoulder since his days at Michigan playing behind Brian Griese and sharing starting time with Drew Henson. The chip grew even bigger as he was waiting for his name to be called in the 2000 Draft as the 199th player selected. 6 other quarterbacks were selected before him: Chad Pennington, Giovanni Carmazzi, Chris Redman, Tee Martin, Marc Bulger, and Spergon Wynn. Being picked so late in the 2000 NFL Draft helped make Brady the great player he’s worked so hard to become.
Since taking over for Drew Bledsoe in 2001, Brady has started 267 regular season games with 207 wins and just 60 losses. Yes, you can give Bill Belichick major credit for a lot of the wins, but the man under center is the one who has to go out and execute the plays. In the postseason, Tom Brady has had 12 game winning drives in the playoffs and is 29-10. He’s helped lead the Patriots to 8 straight AFC Championship games and, with the win on Sunday against the Chiefs, Tom Brady will be playing in his 9th Super Bowl and his 3rd consecutive. This is an extremely impressive feat considering other great quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees who have only made it to the superbowl once. The 2008 season, which Brady missed due to a torn ACL, was the last time the Patriots didn’t make the playoffs. This was the season after the Patriots went 16-0 but ultimately lost to the Giants in the Superbowl, which shows that the Patriot’s success is the result of Tom Brady.
Another reason Tom Brady is so great is his dedication to his teammates, his coaches, and team owner Robert Kraft. Brady has taken significant pay cuts throughout his career, missing out on millions of dollars. His career earnings add up to about $12 million a year, though in 2018 he was scheduled to make $15 million. This is still pretty low considering the players who made more than him in 2018 like Aaron Rodgers ($33.5M), Matt Ryan ($30M), Eli Manning ($21M), Blake Bortles ($18M), and Andy Dalton ($16M) just to name a few. Tom Brady making less a year than Bortles and Dalton seems outrageous, but that’s just the type of team player he is.
Tom Brady has been voted by his peers into the “NFL Top 100” as a top 5 player every year since the show aired on NFL Network in 2011, being voted as the #1 player in 2011, 2017 and 2018. After finding out he was voted the number 1 in back to back years, he had this to say on his Instagram account: “I am honored, grateful and appreciative of such an incredible honor. Thank you to all the NFL players for their kind words. I am blessed to play a sport with so many inspiring athletes. This recognition belongs to my teammates, coaches, fans, friends and family. Thank you all! It doesn’t matter if you start #1 or #199. Bring the same discipline and determination every single day. You will see progress! We are always learning and growing. I wish you all the best on your personal journey.”
Based on his win percentage, his dedication to his team, and the respect he receives from his peers, it is clear that Tom Brady is the greatest of all time.
