There have been a lot of talk about who the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) NFL quarterback is this preseason. After Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh claimed that his QB1, Lamar Jackson will inevitably assume that exalted status, the question was put to the player himself. “The G.O.A.T.? I’m not the G.O.A.T.,” Jackson said of Harbaugh’s stated vision. “Tom Brady the G.O.A.T.”
Hard to disagree with that, as the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar was ranked the greatest of all 61 quarterbacks to have ever started a Super Bowl, according to the NFL’s official website.
That means Brady is considered better than Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Drew Brees and anyone else who comes to mind. Now, more than a full year removed from his playing days, Tom Brady is many things, including a very successful businessman, involved with many different endeavors.
According to a recent article in RG, Brady was even an inspiration to UFC CEO Dana White. Brady was, according to White, the main man responsible for White’s ambitions to host a UFC event at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Additionally, Brady is also getting into broadcasting.
Starting this season, Brady will be the lead color commentator for the NFL on Fox. So the San Mateo native is definitely a man who wears many hats, and all of them up at the highest level. The five time Super Bowl MVP and three time regular season MVP has long seen his legacy cemented, and it’s clear that in 2024, Tom Brady is going to remain front and center in the public eye.
So how does Lamar catch up?
When we said Harbaugh had a “vision,” we really meant it.
Harbs, an extremely religious individual, even claims divine intervention.
“The vision that we have together is that Lamar Jackson is going to become and be known and be recognized as the greatest quarterback ever to play in the history of the National Football League,” he said at Ravens training camp..
“It’s going to happen by Lamar, his work ethic and his brilliant talent, by all of us pouring into that effort together as a team and by the grace of God and God’s goodwill.”
Jackson may already be a two-time NFL MVP, but he has yet to even play in a Super Bowl, let alone win one. Brady has won it seven times, so he has a long way to go yet. He does have the potential to enter this rarified air however. take the 27-year-old quite sometime before he joins that stratosphere.
Added Harbaugh: “He’s the best quarterback in football, we believe, and we are determined to prove it.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.