In the grand scheme of things, you don’t have to look far back in NFL history to find a time when former San Francisco 49ers receiver Jerry Rice was considered the best player to ever step on a football field. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked all of the league’s players on an all-time list and placed Rice first. While Rice is certainly still the biggest receiver the league has ever seen, times have changed in the GOAT debate over the past decade.
Since the ranking was released, Tom Brady (who was listed in 21st place in 2010) has only added to what was already a curriculum in the Hall of Fame. In the past decade, the 43-year-old quarterback has added four more Super Bowl titles to his name, giving him a total of seven. These Super Bowls not only eclipse what any player has been able to do throughout his career, but franchise already won so many. This victory over the Chiefs in the Super Bowl LV added yet another exclamation point to Brady’s GOAT status. Winning everything in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and away from Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots – showed that he is still more than capable away from the all-time coach and his old franchise.
Not only does Brady have championships to interrupt any other GOAT debate at this point, but he is also the most winning quarterback in the league’s history, with 230 career wins on his behalf (and counting). He also made the most touchdowns of all time and will likely pass Drew Brees next season with the most yards released of all time.
With all this in Brady’s favor, Jerry Rice’s once-clear case seems to have dissolved, which the 49ers legend recently recognized. That said, Rice, who spoke for 95.7 the game on Monday, says he played in a much more physical era than Brady.
“I don’t have seven Super Bowl rings, but I think I played at a time when football was more of a contact sport. You are seeing a lot of that now – the players are protected,” said Rice, via Pro Football Speak. “When you have seven rings, you are doing something right. I think with Brady, he still wants to play. He said something about playing until he was 45. I think he can do that now in this league because the players are much more protected. So, yes, he can have that status of GOAT. I never wanted that status anyway. “
Again, this is not to take what Rice did, but Brady won so hard – even before this last Lombardi – that it seems silly to put someone above him.
Meanwhile, Rice also saw Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski break the tie he and Joe Montana had with them for most playoff touchdowns (12) by a pair of QB-receivers after the Bucs combo connected to not one, but two touchdowns on the way to a 31 -9 Super Bowl LV win.