New England Patriots

3 Reasons Tom Brady is Already the Greatest Quarterback Ever

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:56 p.m. ET

Fansided, Jeremy Klump/FanSided via NFL Spin Zone

Tom Brady is already the greatest NFL quarterback of all-time, win or lose in Super Bowl 51.

Debates in sports are always interesting, but as we get closer to Super Bowl 51, the biggest debate in the NFL is at its forefront. Who is the greatest quarterback of all time? It’s a question that is always fun to talk about, mainly because not many people will agree on it, but before Super Bowl 51 kicks off it is time to end the debate. Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback ever. And honestly, it is starting to not even be close.

What is so great about this debate is that there were two kinds of reactions to a statement like that. You either nodded your head and agreed, or you immediately got angry and are ready to try and rip apart my argument. If you agreed, good for you. But if you are ready to rip apart my argument, just stop—there is no argument anymore because Brady is the GOAT.

To the people who do not think Brady is the GOAT, I understand there is Spygate and Deflategate. I understand that Brady has the greatest coach of all time with him. I understand that Joe Montana was great too and Brady is playing in a different era of football. Everything you are going to say isn’t going to change my mind and it definitely isn’t going to change the fact that Brady is the greatest.

Here are three reasons why Brady is already the greatest quarterback of all time, even before Super Bowl 51 kicks off.

Dec 24, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) signals to his offensive line during the first half against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

3. Regular Season Domination

In the regular season, Brady has a career record of 183 wins and only 52 losses. That win-loss record stretches from his first career start in 2001 to arguably his best career year in 2016. Brady missed 15 games in 2008 when he tore his ACL and, outside of his nine-win season in 2002, he has never won fewer than 10 games in a season.

More from NFL Spin Zone

Some will argue that football is a team game, so wins and losses aren’t all based on one player; I would agree with that. However, Brady currently sits fourth for career passing yards (61,582) and touchdowns (456). Also, his 97.2 quarterback rating is good enough the third best in NFL history. The most important stat, though, is his 49 game-winning drives, which has him currently third all time. In 2016, Brady put together one of the greatest 12-game runs in NFL history. He ended the year throwing for 3,554 yards and 28 touchdowns with only two interceptions. The numbers are impressive, but the fact that he did it at the age of 39 makes it amazing.

All of these numbers have helped the Patriots win 14 AFC East titles in 15 opportunities with Brady. Those 14 division titles are more than any other NFL quarterback has won. His 183 regular season wins have him four wins away from becoming the all-time winningest quarterback in NFL regular season history.

Brady has been rewarded for his dominant play, winning Player of the Week 27 times, earning Pro Bowl honors 12 times, being named First-Team All-Pro twice, and winning two NFL MVP awards. There is not a better quarterback in the regular season than Brady, further cementing him as the greatest quarterback ever.

2. Playoff King

Brady is great in the regular season, but he is dominant in the playoffs. Before you try and argue that Brady has lost two Super Bowls, yes, he has lost two Super Bowls. It goes with saying that, again, football is a team game and it is never just because of one player.

So, now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about Brady’s dominance in the playoffs. Brady has won 24 playoff games, more than any other quarterback. He has lost nine playoff games, but his 33 playoff games played are more than any other signal-caller. Four of those 24 wins came in the Super Bowl and Brady’s four rings are tied for the most of all time. He also has won three Super Bowl MVPs, which is also tied for the most ever. He has already played in six Super Bowls and his seventh at Super Bowl 51 is the most for any quarterback.

In the playoffs, Brady leads the NFL with his 8,628 yards and 61 touchdowns. The 61 scores are 16 more than Montana, who is second on that list. Peyton Manning is second all-time with his 7,339 playoff passing yards, 1,289 yards behind Brady. If you just focus on the Super Bowl, Brady also leads all quarterbacks with 1,605 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Just like he did in the regular season, Brady also thrived when the game was on the line. Brady holds the record for most game-winning drives in NFL playoff history with nine, almost double Montana (5).

Regardless of what happens in the Super Bowl, Brady will most likely make many of these statistical marks out of reach for any other player. If he wins one for the thumb, he will have more Super Bowls than any other quarterback. And if he wins the Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl 51, Brady will have the same amount of Super Bowl MVPs (4) than any quarterback has Super Bowl victories. He is truly the king of the playoffs.

Dec 18, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) during the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

1. His Legendary Legacy

He is great in the regular season and he is even better in the playoffs. What else could make Brady’s case stronger for the greatest quarterback ever? His legacy alone.

The best word to describe Brady is legendary, but for many, that is just looking at Brady for his numbers. Yes, everything listed previously is great. There is no debating that Brady’s numbers are arguably the best combination ever. But for me, there is more to Brady than his numbers—well, statistical production at least.

If there was one number that stuck out the most to me, it is 199. I have yet to list that number, but it may be the most important number when arguing that Brady is the GOAT. For those of you that (somehow) don’t know, Brady was selected in the sixth round, 199th overall, in the 2000 NFL Draft.

There were six other quarterbacks select before Brady because, well, Brady was never supposed to be this good—so they said. Brady wasn’t your traditional first-round pick who had expectations to be great. He was the guy the Patriots drafted and many fans did not even care about. That just fueled a fire that has never stopped burning, even at 39 years old.

Going from the 199th pick in the draft to everything we’ve discussed is a direct reflection of how hard Brady works and how truly special he is. He is leaving behind a legacy that will never be reached again and he did it by working hard and always wanting to be better. Every year people try to predict ‘who will be the next Tom Brady—a late round guy that is driven to be the greatest. However, there will never be another player like Brady. That’s the way things work when you’re the greatest ever.