Long before Tom Brady won seven Super Bowl titles for the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana was widely considered the greatest defender on Earth.
Montana, who led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl championships in the 1980s, played 16 years in the NFL. The West Pennsylvania native was the first player to take home three Super Bowl MVPs, in addition to his two regular season MVPs in ’89 and ’90.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Montana was a perfect 4-0 in the Super Bowls, he has the Super Bowl record for passer ranking [127.8], and he had 11 touchdowns and no interceptions in those four games, which included head-to-head clashes against John Elway and the Denver Broncos, and Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins.
Like many NFL fans across the country, Montana witnessed Brady win his seventh Super Bowl championship during this first season with the Buccaneers in 2020. Brady, who has just finished his 21st season in the league, has already said he will return to Tampa Bay on next season, although his wife, Gisele Bündchen, told him after the big game: ‘What else do you have to prove?’
Even though Bündchen may be right, Montana’s advice to Brady is to keep playing.
TOM BRADY SPEAKS LOMBARDI TROPHY TOSS: ‘I DIDN’T BE THINKING ABOUT THE MOMENT’
“Play as much as you can,” Montana told Fox News on Wednesday. “Because, once it’s over, it’s over. And if you try to get back to that after you retire, especially at an older age, it’s hard to get that motivation back. So as long as you can keep going, and if people want to that you play, keep playing. “
Brady, a native of Northern California, grew up idolizing the superstar of the Bay Area, Montana. His idol was an NFL recruiting choice in the third round. Brady, who was called up in the sixth round, was seen on the same line as Montana. None of them were designed for the greatness of the Hall of Fame coming out of college.
Brady became the holder of the Patriots during his second season. Montana did the same with the 49ers. But Brady has now exceeded the quarterback he applauded in his youth.
To accompany his seven Super Bowl titles, Brady also won five Super Bowl MVPs. Brady is three times NFL MVP, three times first All-Pro, 14 times Pro Bowler and holds several NFL records in the regular season and combined playoffs, including most wins (264), passing yards (91,653), touchdowns (664 ), game winning units (61) and fourth period twists (48).
“I think it’s been great. It’s been great for football,” said Montana of Brady’s career.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
The former University of Notre Dame student also noted that Brady “is not the first (player) to move and go to the Super Bowl.” And Montana knows from experience. Brady was able to accomplish a feat with the Bucs that Montana was unable to accomplish after leaving San Francisco.
With another Hallback of Fame quarterback, Steve Young, waiting backstage in San Francisco, in 1993 Montana requested an exchange and was sent to the Kansas City Chiefs. In two seasons, he led the Chiefs to the playoffs, but failed to bring the team to the Super Bowl.
The quarterback, who became known as “Joe Cool” for his comeback heroism, is simply impressed by Brady. He had a “tremendous, tremendous career,” added Montana.
Although Montana can see a little bit of himself in Brady, he saw a potential difference. “I don’t know if I would have played the [Lombardi] trophy to another boat or not, “said Montana,” Who knows? I think tequila is going to make you do something crazy. But it has been fun to watch. “