top of page
Writer's pictureWill Tondo

Brady will go down as the greatest football player of all time. Who follows suite in other sports?

We have now heard it from the source. Tom Brady, the GOAT's of GOAT's has officially announced his retirement. I still feel he'll come back in a year or so, but if this is it, then hats off to an incredible career. There will never be one like TB12 and his resume earns him a fast track auto bid to the Hall of Fame. When you break it down, it is truly incredible and eye popping, especially for a guy who was drafted with the 199th pick in 2000.


  • 7× Super Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, LIII, LV) **

  • 5× Super Bowl MVP (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XLIX, LI, LV) **

  • 3× NFL Most Valuable Player (2007, 2010, 2017)

  • 2× NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2007, 2010)

  • NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2009)

  • 3× First-team All-Pro (2007, 2010, 2017)

  • 3× Second-team All-Pro (2005, 2016, 2021)

  • 15× Pro Bowl (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009–2018, 2021)

  • 5× NFL passing touchdowns leader (2002, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2021)

  • 4× NFL passing yards leader (2005, 2007, 2017, 2021)

  • 2× NFL passer rating leader (2007, 2010)

  • 2× NFL completion percentage leader (2007, 2010)

  • NFL 2000s All-Decade Team

  • Unanimous NFL 2010s All-Decade Team

  • Unanimous NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team

  • Bert Bell Award (2007)

  • Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year (2007)

  • Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (2005, 2021)

  • Most Super Bowl appearances: 10

  • Most career quarterback wins: 243

  • Most career passing attempts: 11,317

  • Most career passing completions: 7,263

  • Most career passing touchdowns: 624

  • Most career passing yards: 84,520

  • Most pass completions in a season: 485 (2021)

  • National champion (1997)

** NFL Records



With TB12 joining the history books, let's check out who else has earned the same status of "Greatest of all Time"


 

Basketball


Bill Russell

Embrace debate! Michael Jordan is the best player to grace the NBA, 14x All-Star, 5x MVP, all-time leader in points per game, 10x scoring champion, and 6 Championships. LeBron is right there with him, doing things that are out of this world, based on age and competition, but the GOAT of the league has to be Russell. In terms of winning, 11x Champ, 5x MVP, 12x All-Star, and a historical icon. Nobody will ever be able to repeat his legacy.

Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images


Baseball


Yogi Berra

Many will say Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Hank Aaron, but Yogi Berra's resume cannot be overshadowed. An 18x All-Star, 3x MVP, and a whopping 13 World Series as a Player and Coach, again, another milestone I think will never be touched again. Joe Dimaggio could be slotted here as well. 56 game hitting streak, with 13 All-Stars and 9 World Series, even though he missed three years after enlisting in the Air Force during WWII.


Photo: Baseball Hall of Fame


Hockey


Wayne Gretsky

NHL's all-time leader in goals and assists, there is a reason 99 is universally retired. 4 Stanley Cups, 9x MVP, 2 Conn Smyth Trophies, 10x Scoring Leader, he revolutionized the game. The story of hockey wouldn't be told without The Great One. A sleeper pick could be the Pocket Rocket, Henri Richard, who won 11 Stanley Cups in his 20 year career with the Montreal Canadiens.

Photo: Files / Postmedia


Olympics


Michael Phelps

America's poster child. A record breaking most Olympic gold medals and Olympic gold medals in individual events. 28 total, 23 gold, at just 15 years old, becoming the youngest male Olympian since 1932.

Photo: Simon Bruty / Sports Illustrated


Golf


Jack Nicklaus

The Golden Bear is the epitome of an elite golfer and an ultimate winner. 18 Major Wins

3 British Open titles, 4 US Open's, 5 Masters wins, and a 6x PGA Champion. Tiger is the modern day favorite, but historically, I'll give the nod to Jack.


Boxing


Sugar Ray Robinson

As an amateur, Sugar Ray was 85-0, with 69 (nice) of those wins coming by the way of knockouts. At 19, he turned pro and had a 128-1-2 record in a 11 year stretch. In his entirety, he had a 126 straight victories, which is unheard of today. He ended his career going 173-19-6 with 108 KO's. Pound-for-pound the best boxer in history, with the evolution of the sport, there will never be anyone who can touch these records.

Photo: NY Daily News via Getty Images


Soccer


Lionel Messi

Probably a bigger debate than the MJ/LeBron conversation, is it Pele, Maradona, Messi, or Ronaldo. I'll give the nod to Messi, who is often rated as the best player of all time and one of the greatest to ever grace the game He's won a record six Ballon d'Or awards and six European Golden Shoes. He's77 third all-time in goals scored ever, with two less than CR7.

Tennis


Roger Federer

This could be the most debatable of them all. Between Nadal, the Williams sisters, Steffi Graf, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic, the options are endless, but Federer is by far the best of the best. Roger Federer has mesmerized the tennis world by his game, and has 20 Grand Slam titles, a record of 1251–275 (82.0%), 103 career titles, and two Olympic medals, he has defined winningest in Tennis.

Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas - Credit: AP


Comentarios


bottom of page