These last few weeks, we have heard a lot about how good Tom Brady and the Patriots are as they enter their eighth Super Bowl in 17 years. There is not a lot Brady hasn’t done in his career.
Five times Super Bowl Champion, four times Super Bowl MVP, and 13 times Pro Bowl selection.
Kids all over the world will be throwing the pigskin in the backyard wearing the number 12 on their back for generations to come.
For me, he receives a GOAT rating of 9.5/10
But how does Brady compare to other legends?
Michael Phelps – Swimming
Phelps qualified for five Olympic games, from Sydney in 2000 to Rio 2016. The most decorated athlete in Olympic history, Phelps finished his career with 23 gold medals and 28 overall.
The king of the pool, the American took a medal in almost every race he swam. From 100m, 200m, 400m, relays and individual medleys, he won it all.
He retired after London in 2012 but returned two years later and didn’t miss a beat, and was the flag bearer for the USA Olympic team at Rio.
GOAT rating: 7.5/10
Usain Bolt – Sprinting
Bolt is the fastest man to have ever lived. During his tenure at the top of world sprinting, he took a whopping 0.17 seconds off his times over the 100m, and 0.28 seconds over the 200m. He currently holds both world records and they won’t be beaten for some time.
In an age of sprinters testing positive for performance-enhancing substances, Bolt was the shining light for a sport which had so much bad publicity.
He dominated athletics for over a decade, winning the 100m, 200m and 4×100 relay with Jamaica in three-consecutive Olympics.
GOAT rating: 8.5/10
Usain Bolt (photo: AAP)
Don Bradman – Cricket
Arguably Australia’s greatest cricketer, ‘The Don’ played 52 test matches at an incredible average of 99.94.
Every Aussie cricket fan has heard the story of how Bradman would practice at home with a cricket stump and golf ball against a corrugated iron tank.
He played in an era when bats were heavy and the pitches resembled dangerous goat tracks.
He gave the public a hero to watch during the great depression of the 1930s.
GOAT rating: 9.5/10
Phil Taylor – Darts
Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor is the most successful darts player of all time. He was front and centre as the game went global and into everyone’s lounge room, with the charisma and character to bring in fans to the game he loved and dominated for so long.
Widely regarded as the greatest darts player of all time, Taylor won 216 professional tournaments, including 83 major titles and a record 16 World Championships.
He retired earlier this year.
GOAT rating: 8.5/10
Michael Schumacher – Formula 1
Schumacher was a Formula Oned river with Ferrari, Mercedes, Jordon, and Benetton from 1991-2012. He won seven championships, including five in a row with Ferrari from 2000, before retiring after the 2012 season.
In December 2013, he suffered a horrific head injury while skiing in the French Alps. It is not known how bad the injuries are to date.
GOAT rating: 8/10
Wayne Gretzky – Ice Hockey
Canadian Wayne ‘The Great One’ Gretzky played in the NHL between 1979-99 for four different sides. He is still the leading scorer in the league with 894 goals. At the time of his retirement, he held 61 NHL records and still holds 60 today.
A recent study showed that if NHL Fantasy was around during his time, they would need to split his points into defence and offence to make it fair for everyone else. Otherwise, he would outscore an entire team on his own.
GOAT rating: 9.5/10 – on par with Brady.
Winx – Racing
Arguably Australia’s greatest mare, Winx has raced 32 times for 26 wins, and is currently enjoying a 22-race unbeaten run. She has won three consecutive Cox Plates and was named the world’s top-ranked turf horse in 2016 and 2017.
We have seen her lead from the off and win, or chase down a 50-metre leader with only 200 metres to the finish line. She knows how to win, and I’m sure her offspring will fetch a pretty penny when they eventually retire her to the farm.
Losing races early in her career works against Winx for this list.
My GOAT rating: 9/10
Winx (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roger Federer – Tennis
Last month, the ‘Fed Express’ won the Australian Open, his 20th Grand Slam title, to establish himself as the undisputed greatest male player tennis ever.
Over the years he has fought off competition from Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal, but he has always come out on top. At the ripe old age of 36, he is not showing any signs of slowing down and could continue to push his record into unchartered territory.
My GOAT rating: 9.5/10 – on par with Brady.
Floyd Mayweather – Boxing
Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather has a professional record of 50-0 with 26 knockouts – beating everyone to have stepped into the ring with him.
Yes, he is a show pony, but most boxers are. He will always be one of the greats of the sport.
However, his numerous indiscretions away from the ring work against him for this list.
My GOAT rating: 8/10
Notable absentees
Serena Williams – Tennis
Dally Messenger – Rugby League
Nadia Comaneci – Gymnastics
Brad Thorn – Rugby League, Rugby Union
Cameron Smith – Rugby League
Peter Brock – Motorsport
Verdict
Brady is incredible and has done wonders for his team and the league in general, but Roger Federer is the greatest of all GOATs.
The way he handles himself on and off the court is impeccable. He has fought off competition from so many along the way and is continuing to improve with age.
It’s a tough group to just choose one, but the Fed Express gets my vote. Feel free to tell me I’m wrong.
Ben
Roar Guru
All great nominations, and Brady may well be the GOAT in the NFL. But I find it damn near impossible for anyone that has actually read his statistics, to not have Wayne Gretzky as the most dominant sportsman - and therefore the greatest - of all time. Probably a year ago, I had a good look at most of the above mentioned statistics. It's 1. Wayne Gretzky, 2. Thin air...
no one in particular
Roar Guru
He's not even the best player in his position during his career - Peyton and Rodgers are better players. Swap coaches with either of them and this article does not exist. Jim Brown was a better footballer, and Brady would never be cast in The Dirty Dozen. Success does not equate to greatness, nor does longevity. The fact that you included Thorn and Smith as notables and Pele is omitted altogether shows you are totally clueless. Pele, Maradona, Eusebio, Jordan, Serena, Nicklaus, Woods, Ted Williams, Redgrave are obvious names missing
Leonard
Guest
Or Brett Favre? (Do his post-Packers games diminish his status? There are several AFL and NRL stars who've eked out a few more games with 'the enemy' for a few fistfuls of dollars, but in doing so lowered their esteem in their sports.)
BrainsTrust
Guest
Brady is not even the best in his position, Montana was better.
Leonard
Guest
"There are three first laws of journalism: 1. Research; 2. Research; 3. Research" - someone should let lots of today's journos; too many just vent, or just reprint 'media releases' from 'interested' parties. And - they're supposed to be wordsmiths, remember - they keep misusing 'impact' (probably 'coz they can't tell 'affect' from 'effect', or are too lazy to google Wiktionary); and 'issue' (probably 'coz they can't be bothered to consider 'problem', 'hindrance', 'obstacle', 'delay', and about ten or 20 other more apt words); and have destroyed that very useful distinction between 'reluctance' and 'reticence'; and wouldn't appreciate the second last word of my opening sentence if it bit them on their collective arses. As for any skerrick of intelligence in using numbers - forget it.
Leonard
Guest
Two.
Leonard
Guest
Which comprised about one quarter of the world at the time, didn't it?
perry cox
Roar Guru
Agreed. And no footballers. Limited list.
Leonard
Guest
About Rod Laver being "still the only person to win two grand slams", a letter to a national newspaper reckoned that the expression 'grand slam' was being misused for 'grand slam titles', rather than referring solely to winning all four of the Aus + Fr + Eng + US Opens within one of Pope Gregory XIII's years. What if 'Grand Slam' was used for the real thing? And as in Grand Slam I (D Budge 1938), II (M Connolly 1953), III (R Laver 1962), IV (R Laver 1969), V (M Court 1970^), and VI (S Graf 1988*), with the Roman numerals emphasising its rarity and adding gravitas? [Note about 1988*: this is a 'good' *, meaning plus an Olympic Gold medal, not that a Bad Bad Thing happened.] ^ still a winner, despite all the vicious and hate-filled venting - how many of these morons have ever won anything?
Leonard
Guest
Would that make him the 'GOAGOAT'?
monday QB
Guest
This is always an interesting discussion point, but ultimately it's a very trivial exercise as there's just too much personal perspective to ever land on a definitive view (apologies for being captain obvious on that point!). However, even if you just take the measure of 'how much better is person X than the next best person in their particular support' as a way of trying to line up different supports (and not bother too much with the difficulty of comparing across generations), I'd suggest that Brady is nowhere near the top of the GOAT list (and i'm saying that as someone who's followed the Pats for the best part of the last 30 years). But ultimately it really is just personal preference and perspective.
me too
Guest
sorry, bradman, phelps, and bolt - edit function not working.
me too
Guest
was exactly who i thought was missing when i read the article, along with lindrum - they dominated their sports and had no peers. not sure how mayweather got on this list, and winx also if we're talking about champions head and shoulders above the competition - great horse, but she's still only rated number two in the world of just the current crop. Federer certainly belongs up there but can be compared with Laver, who is still the only person to win two grand slams and who knows how many majors he may have won if not ruled ineligible for years during his prime. If we're ruling out McKay and Lindrum on the basis of the popularity of the sport, then brady likewise is ruled out as only one nation actually plays the sport at a high level. And darts is certainly a contentious admission is billiards is exempt. So for mine that leaves Bradman, Thorpe, and Bolt. Three champions head and shoulders above the field in three pretty global sports.
AR
Guest
Bradman must be the best. Surely no other sportsman is that much better statistically than the next best. Even Jordan has arguable comparison with James, as does Ali with Marciano, Louis or Mayweather. But after Bradman, it must be Bolt. Before Bolt, only one man (Lewis) had ever won the Olympic 100m back to back. Bolt won 3. Before Bolt, no man had EVER won back to back 200m. Bolt won 3.
John
Guest
That is gold ..... just gold
Mad Dog
Guest
The reality is that Brady is 2 absolutely BS catches (both by the giants, in seperate Superbowls) away from currently being 7-0 in the big game. The guy is easily number 1 on my personal list.
Mad Dog
Guest
Rossi, Jordan, Ali. Weren't even in the notable absantees. 3 big names to leave off a list of 'GOAT's
elvis
Guest
Heather Mckay, unbeaten for almost 20 years in squash, only ever lost TWO matches (near the start of her career). Also played hockey for Australia, and is in the American racquetball hall of fame.
piru
Roar Rookie
Richie McCaw even more so
Paul McDonnell
Roar Rookie
There are three first laws of journalism: 1. Research; 2. Research; 3. Research. It could have been a decent article - and not a mere beat-up - if that important principle had been applied. And it is indeed a dangerous ploy to compare champions of a sport from different eras, let alone across all sports. Just to simplify - and parallel - this rebuff, I'd like to draw an American Football champion comparison through the legendary Jim Thorpe - the father of American Football and the man voted the Greatest Sportsman of the first 50 years of Sport in the 1900s. If today's marketing had been around in Thorpe's time, there would be a religion in his name by today. Apart from his Gold Medal performances in both the Decathlon and Pentathlon (such was his incredible athletic versatility) at Stockholm's 1912 Olympic Games, Thorpe was the greatest draw card in the professional leagues of American Football, Baseball (New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves) and also Basketball (World Famous Indians - a travelling team likened to the Harlem Globetrotters from that period). Just take a look at Thorpe's capabilities in this extract from his obituary in the New York Times: "...he could run the 100-yard dash in 10 seconds flat; the 220 in 21.8 seconds; the 440 in 51.8 seconds; the 880 in 1:57, the mile in 4:35; the 120-yard high hurdles in 15 seconds; and the 220-yard low hurdles in 24 seconds.[7] He could long jump 23 ft 6 in and high-jump 6 ft 5 in.[7] He could pole vault 11 feet; put the shot 47 ft 9 in; throw the javelin 163 feet; and throw the discus 136 feet." (I think I just heard Usain Bolt exclaim: "No way, mahn!!!"). Similarly to Brady, he played in the American Football leagues until the age of 41. But while Brady receives his incredible accolades as the guiding light QB directing New England Patriots to strings of Super Bowl victories, Thorpe literally carried his teams on his back in a variety of roles, including running back, defensive back, placekicker and punter. When visiting the hallowed NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, the first thing people see is the statue of the man recognised as American Football's Greatest of All Time - Jim Thorpe. It's not an accident that the legendary figure stands guard at the entrance of those hallowed halls. It's because any player worthy of a place in the Hall Of Fame has to first pay homage to the man who foreshadows the path to greatness - the incomparable Jim Thorpe.