Written by Jeremy Bergman at NFL.com
On the heels of Tom Brady Appreciation Week, and in the midst of Tom Brady Adulation Offseason, the Patriots quarterback continues to be lauded, often rightly, as the greatest of all time. Or as one video game enterprise put it: the G.O.A.T.
But Brady doesn’t see it that way. Not even after completing the greatest comeback in Super Bowl, and arguably professional football, history.
In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN’s Ian O’Connor, Brady brushed off talk that he had surpassed his boyhood hero, former 49ers legend Joe Montana, as the greatest quarterback and football player in the game’s history.
“I don’t agree with that,” he told O’Connor, “and I’ll tell you why. I know myself as a player. I’m really a product of what I’ve been around, who I was coached by, what I played against, in the era I played in. I really believe if a lot of people were in my shoes they could accomplish the same kinds of things. So I’ve been very fortunate. … I don’t ever want to be the weak link.”
It’s quite a humble stance from a five-time Super Bowl champion, four-time Super Bowl MVP and two-time MVP who’s quarterbacked for a decade and a half the greatest football dynasty this league has ever known. But it’s one we’ve come to expect from Brady, who prefers to chase greatness, not profess it.
Instead, his eyes are now set on another legend of American sports: six-time NBA champion and brand master Michael Jordan.
“I was in awe of Michael Jordan,” Brady added, “and I still am in awe of what he was and what he meant. … He was such an effortless player. He put a lot of effort in, but there’s an art and a beauty to the way he played the game. That was a very inspiring thing.”
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