At first, Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders said he considered fellow Hall of Famer, quarterback Joe Montana, as the greatest of all time (GOAT). Montana, who played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, had an unblemished 4-0 record in Super Bowls before he retired after the 1994 season. But Sanders told Sports Illustrated he changed his mind about Montana being the GOAT after quarterback Tom Brady won seven Super Bowl titles in his 23-year career with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “Once upon a time for me it was Montana.
It was Joe. Shoot, it was Joe. But Brady with the Super Bowl wins eclipsed that,” said Sanders, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, 11 years after Montana’s induction in 2000.
When asked what set Brady apart from Montana, Sanders mentioned the quarterback’s will and the fire and passion that he brought to the game. “The will. The way. What he brought to the game. And his fire and his passion,” Sanders said, adding he never heard anybody, be it a player or coach, mentioned anything negative about how Brady attacked the game. “He’s a winner. He’s a darn winner,” stressed Sanders. In a previous interview, Montana said he conceded the GOAT title to Brady many years ago.
As a 49ers fan, Brady looked up to Montana while growing up in California.
When he joined the 2000 NFL Draft, he hoped to be selected by the 49ers, who opted to choose quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi over him. Brady eventually landed with the Patriots as the 199th overall pick and the rest was history as he led New England to six Super Bowl titles in his two-decade stay with the team. After the 2019 season, Brady signed a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Buccaneers, whom he led to a Super Bowl victory in his first year with the squad.
With his retirement now official, Brady is eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028. The quarterback is also expected to take on his new role as football analyst for Fox Sports starting the 2024 NFL season. To recall, Brady signed a 10-year deal worth $375 million to become Fox Sports’ top football analyst during his brief retirement last offseason, but he changed his mind after 41 days and returned for another tour of duty with the Buccaneers.
Brady invites Gronkowski to his unofficial retirement party
In his latest tweet, the 45-year-old Brady said he is arranging an unofficial retirement party on March 16 in Tampa Bay. Based on his post, Brady has teamed up with Autograph to hold a party with some lucky fans, per Marca.com. To spice up the event, Brady has invited his former teammate, tight end Rob Gronkowski, to join him in the event. Brady and Gronkowski played together for 11 seasons – nine with the Patriots and two with the Buccaneers – and won four Super Bowls as teammates.
