Tom Brady and Joe Montana are forever linked. Brady grew up in the Bay Are and worshipped Montana, and was at Candlestick Park when he found Dwight Clark for his famous touchdown pass.
Eighteen years later, Montana was in attendance for Brady’s first-ever NFL contest: the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. Two days earlier, Montana delivered his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech. At the time, he was the undisputed greatest of all-time.
Tom Brady is lying about the end of his patriots career
Now he’s number two, and that seems to bother him.
ESPN’s Wright Thompson recently wrote an excellent 12,000-word feature story on Montana, exploring the four-time Super Bowl champion’s inner-physique in a sensitive and detailed way. While the story is about Montana — Thompson spent months with the all-time great, sipping wine and accompanying him to investor conferences — it’s also about Brady.
Brady retires from the NFL with seven Super Bowl rings and an unparalleled list of triumphs. Montana’s closest friends and family say that bugs him.
"I don't think he would own up to caring, but he gets pretty animated at the Tom Brady comparison and is quick to point out the game has changed so much,” said Montana’s daughter.
Indeed it has. One of the prevailing themes in the piece is Montana’s bitterness over how his 49ers career ended. He suffered an elbow injury in the 1990 NFC Championship, which kept him out for the 1991 season. Steve Young ascended to the starting job, and the following year, Montana was traded to the Chiefs.
It’s apparent that Montana’s exit from San Francisco still bothers him today.
"Why wasn't I allowed to compete for the job?,” he asked. “I just had one of the best years I'd ever had. I could understand if I wasn't playing well. We had just won two Super Bowls and I had one of my best years and we were winning in the championship game when I got hurt. How do I not get an opportunity? That’s the hardest part.”
Later in the piece, Montana laments the 49ers wouldn’t even allow him in the facility during the ’91 campaign.
Brady could tell a similar story about his final days with the Patriots. Just like Montana, he was pushed out by a legendary head coach, and finished his career elsewhere.
But unlike Montana, Brady won a Super Bowl at his second destination. He won four Super Bowls over his final 10 seasons.
Thompson writes that Montana was “not so quietly rooting for the Seahawks [and] Falcons” during two of those games. In an email to Thompson, Montana once referred to Brady as “the guy in Tampa.”
"Something about Brady specifically seems to irritate Montana,” Thompson writes. “Friends say he'd be happy if Patrick Mahomes won eight titles.”
There’s some petty grievance, too. Montana’s friends say that Brady hasn’t made an effort to know Montana personally, despite praising him publicly.
The piece can’t be summed up in 500 words; and yes, Montana’s feelings about Brady are the most salacious part. An incredibly wealthy investor, Montana is living a great life. As Thompson said in an ESPN interview, he’s much closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar than Joe DiMaggio.
But still, there’s something about Brady that just doesn't seem to sit right with him.