Opinion: Tom Brady was so generational, it's impossible for there to be another like him
Update: Brady officially announced his retirement Tuesday
Let's go down the list of some of Tom Brady's accomplishments:
He's the only one to play in Super Bowls in three different decades.
Brady won seven of them. He snagged five Super Bowl MVPs. He's the only quarterback named to two all-decade teams. He's the only Super Bowl MVP for two different teams.
We could go on. We could list his accomplishments forever. They could fill the data banks of a supercomputer. If we read them all, we'd be doing so for another several years. All of those data points and accomplishments and awards and records lead into one indisputable fact.
It's not just that he's the best NFL player of all time, it's that likely no one, ever, ever, ever again will achieve what he's done.
There would have to be some breaking of the laws of physics or new combination of cybernetic and biological interfacing for it to happen again.
Brady's winning and achievements reach super-duper ridiculous levels, so absurd, it's almost zany, like a football caricature. Like if you took the show "Peacemaker," but it starred an NFL quarterback.
Brady was so good that he set a level that will be unmatched. That is the Bradiest thing of all. He was an alien who in 22 years set a standard that's impossible to meet. In 10 years, we will still see Brady as the standard. In 30, the same. In 50, yes. In 100, yes as well.
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His former offensive coordinator in New England, Charlie Weis, when asked on the NFL Network if there would be another Brady, put it well: "I don't ever see, at least in my lifetime, anyone winning anywhere near the number of championships Tom had."
He added: "Let's just talk about the AFC. I'm going to rattle off five names: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. Now I just threw out five young guys, right? You have to figure championships are going to be split between a lot of these guys.
"It's not just gonna be one guy winning them all like Tommy was doing ... Guys will throw for a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns, but let's see how many people come even anywhere close to having seven rings by the time they're done. I would reckon that (won't happen) in our lifetimes."
The reason why he'll stay the standard, maybe for decades, isn't just his immense skill and accuracy as a thrower; it was his will. He elevated everyone around him in ways few quarterbacks in history could do. He made average players good, good players great and great players Hall of Famers. Tight end Rob Gronkowski was already a devastating talent, but Brady made him even better.
When I interviewed Brady years ago, he was still in New England. We talked about his competitiveness and he downplayed it, saying it was a team sport, and everyone made him better, as much as he did them.
But then he had almost a throwaway line: The main thing I try to do is make sure no one outworks me.
And no one did.
There's a story former Patriots teammate Rodney Harrison told ESPN, which is one of the definitive of Brady's work-ethic tales.
"This was when I first got to New England, we had become friends and we were in the weight room," Harrison said. "I show up around 6:30 in the morning and he says to me, 'Good afternoon!' So the next day, I get the hint, and come in 15 minutes earlier. Same thing: He says, 'Good afternoon!' Then the next day it's 5:45 in the morning, and he makes sure to say it twice: 'Good afternoon! Good afternoon!'
"So I make it at 5:30 the next day and before he could say anything to me, I looked at him and said, 'Man, I don't give a damn what you say, Tom, I'm not coming in earlier than 5:30!' We both laughed at that."
There are plenty of hard-working quarterbacks. There are lots of talented quarterbacks. There are only a handful who have both qualities, and even fewer who have both in such high quantities.
What people may not remember is that after Brady was drafted in 2000, the team kept four quarterbacks on its roster, an unusually high number. Brady was the fourth-string quarterback.
Fourth. String.
Anger over being drafted in the sixth round, or starting at the bottom, or early on in his career being doubted, and as he continued to win, being doubted more, and after he was accused of cheating over Deflategate, being doubted yet again. Then, after he entered his 40s, being told he was too old, still being mad.
In Brady's mind, he was always fourth-string, despite being generational. That motivation helped make him so formidable.
There's another number to consider when it comes to Brady: one.
That's where he'll be for a long, long time. Maybe forever.