If Tom Brady has indeed retired “for good” as he said in his Instagram announcement on Wednesday, what a career it was.
In fact, he might well have put together the greatest résumé of any athlete in American sports history: seven titles, five Super Bowl MVPs, three league MVPS (including unanimous award in 2010), the NFL record holder in touchdown passes, completions, passing yards, etc. Patrick Mahomes might sniff some of those records, but it’s going to be hard to match them all.
But there’s another aspect to Brady’s greatness that might never be matched: his sheer longevity and consistency from start to finish.
ESPN’s Field Yates tweeted out his career numbers on Wednesday split into his three decades of life on the field — something we’ve seen done before when putting Brady's career into perspective. But seeing it again after his age 45 season is something to behold.
The fact that he put up more yards and touchdowns after turning 40 than in the six years he had as a starter in his 20s, which included his 2007 MVP season (4,806 yards, 50 TDs), is absurd even when you account for the last two years including an extra regular-season game.
His winning multiple Super Bowl titles and MVPs in three different decades might also be something we never see again. And, just to remind everyone, he did that as a former 199th pick in the NFL Draft.
In short: Brady is the greatest football player we’ve ever seen, and we’re lucky to have gotten to watch him play for as long as we did.
