On Sunday 7th February 2021 Tom Brady secured his seventh Super Bowl ring when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, an incredible achievement that means he has now surpassed the NBA’s Michael Jordan’s six rings – widely considered to be the greatest athlete of all time – and has more Super Bowl rings than any other NFL player in history. However, rather than lauding Tom Brady’s greatness much of the sports media has decided to regurgitate the same tired arguments they have been using to diminish Tom Brady’s achievements for fifteen years. The arguments being that he has only achieved great success because of his coaches; he only wins because he has “better” teammates than his more “talented” contemporaries, like Aaron Rodgers, who make him look great; that his age has meant he has “fallen off a cliff”, becoming a shadow of his former self.
Brady himself seems to have become tired of these criticisms. He, uncharacteristically, acknowledged the criticism by posting a video on his Twitter account in the wake of his seventh Super Bowl ring in which he “roasts” the pundits who have spent years criticising him. This prompted the ‘Pro Football Talk’ show to ask why Brady has to be so “petty”, before quickly claiming that Tampa’s victory should be attributed primarily to Tampa’s defence rather than to Brady – thereby, inadvertently, exposing why Brady chose to indulge in such “pettiness”. Furthermore, it is important to ask how Brady’s video calling out his critics can be characterised as “pettiness” when Brady has refrained from responding to his critics until this year, preferring to let his on the field performances do the talking – if he was “petty” he would have produced a similar video after each of his previous six Super Bowl triumphs.
It is very sad to see that Brady is so, criminally, underappreciated by the media and many sports fans, as he should be considered the undisputed great of the NFL. As a result, it is time to rectify this situation by debunking many of the criticisms that have been levelled at him throughout his career and explaining why he should be considered the greatest NFL player ever.
Comparisons to Aaron Rodgers
One of the biggest reasons why many in the media dispute that Tom Brady is the greatest ever NFL player is because they assert that Aaron Rodgers is more talented and has better statistics. It is undeniably true that Aaron Rodgers has more natural talent than Tom Brady, and has better statistics overall than Brady, with Rodgers winning the MVP award even when failing to reach the playoffs. However, this is not the full picture, because the more pertinent question when assessing who is the greater player is who has achieved the most with their talent. While Aaron Rodgers has more natural talent and has better overall statistics Tom Brady outplays his rivals when it counts, always turning up in the big moments; whereas Aaron Rodgers has only once converted that natural talent and athleticism into Super Bowl victories, with him being accused of choking in the clutch moments. This is encapsulated perfectly through the fact that Tom Brady has won as many NFC championships games in one season in the NFC as Aaron Rodgers has won in 13 seasons in the NFC. As a result, Tom Brady has a much better postseason record and statistics than Aaron Rodgers, and has the trophies that really matter – the Super Bowl. In truth, Tom Brady’s tendency to play well in big games should come as no surprise to people, since the scouting report before the 2000 NFL draft said he was a clutch player.
Furthermore, one of the most overlooked points when discussing who is the greatest NFL player ever is where Tom Brady started from compared to his rivals. This is because Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL draft, with him being the 199th pick and the 7th quarterback to be drafted; while Aaron Rodgers was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2005 NFL draft, with him being the 24th pick and the 2nd quarterback to be drafted. Instead of looking at Brady’s college stats and impressive record in big college football games the scouters focused on his unimpressive physique and stature and decided the write him off completely. This makes Tom Brady’s achievements all the more impressive, because while the likes of Aaron Rodgers have, justifiably, been hyped up from day one Brady has had to fight every season to prove he belongs in the NFL, with him still getting “fired up” over the 2000 draft snub and using it as determination to become better than anyone else in history.
It’s not just because of his coaches and teammates
The final piece of criticism of Tom Brady that needs to be debunked is that he only has had the level of success he has had because of the system that Bill Belichek and Bruce Arians implemented around him and because he has superior teammates to his other quarterback rivals, specifically Aaron Rodgers, who are the real match winners.
The first reason why this criticism is so flawed is because the Patriots reached the divisional round of the 2010 NFL Playoffs with the 21st worst defence in the entire NFL, meaning that it was Brady and his offense who were responsible for the Patriots results that season. In addition, if Brady’s success was attributable primarily to Bill Bellichek and his system then why has he won a Super Bowl in his first season away from the Patriots? The answer that Brady’s critics give is that Bruce Arians, the Tampa Head Coach, has implemented a system that protected Brady, thereby allowing him to win. However, according to his teammates the reason why Tampa, a team where the majority of the players had never played in a Super Bowl prior to the 2020 season, have suddenly won a Super Bowl is because of Brady. Many Tampa players have told reporters how Brady has helped to develop them, improve the team’s system, and motivate them so they could win the Super Bowl. This media talking point is made more frustrating by the fact that when the Patriots lost it was blamed primarily on Brady rather than Bellichek – for example the Patriots failure to reach the 2019 playoffs was used as a tool to ger rid of Brady.
Tom Brady playing an instrumental role in Tampa’s Super Bowl success is reinforced by the fact that he was the one who pushed Tampa into signing Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski, thereby proving that throughout his career the selection and recruitment of teammates has been as much to do with him as it has been to do with his coaches.
This ability to improve his teammates ability and create a perfect winning team should be no surprise to people given that former teammate Julian Edelman has detailed how in the offseason – when most players are on a beach eating fast food – Brady trains with his receivers and tight ends so he has intimate knowledge of how they work and can then help improve their play. This is a testament to the way in which Brady has dedicated his life to winning, with Brady stating that there is an ‘intensity to what we are trying to accomplish; if you want to be great you have to bring it every day’. Consequently, when pundits state that Brady does better in the postseason compared to Rodgers because Brady’s teammates are better than Rodgers’ they should consider that the reason for this is because of Brady’s leadership, intimate relationship with his teammates, and dedication to the sport which makes him better than anyone else. If Rodgers had a similar dedication and relationship with his teammates then his teammates may be as good as Brady’s.
This is why it is time for his critics to give him the respect and credit he deserves. While it is unfair to compare between sports Tom Brady must now be recognised as the greatest NFL player ever.
Feature Photo Credit: Brook Ward, Flickr
