The sports pages have been going crazy recently with questions about how much longer Tom Brady can play for. Already widely known as the GOAT (greatest of all time) Brady is currently 44years-old and he shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. When asked recently if he could still be playing at 50, the NFL legend replied “I think I can. I think it’s a yes.”
Brady’s team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are only second favourites to win Super Bowl LVI the with Unibet. Curiously, they are behind the Kansas City Chiefs, despite comprehensively beating them in last year’s showpiece, 31-9. In that match-up, Brady threw 201yards for three touchdowns while Patrick Mahomes didn’t throw a touchdown pass all night.
A remarkable record
Tom Brady has had an illustrious career since he was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000. He went on to lead them to no less than six Super Bowl victories before moving on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Remarkably, he did the same again in Florida, leading the largely unsuccessful Bucs to the Super Bowl in 2021.
Brady has a habit of setting and breaking records, especially where age is concerned. He is the only quarterback to chalk up a Superbowl win in three different decades and was the oldest NFL MVP in 2017 at the age of 40. When he won with the Bucs this year, he broke his own record as the oldest quarterback to win the Super Bowl.
Getting better all the time
Tom Brady may be getting older, but he is certainly not slowing down. Despite being 44, Brady has started the new season in the form of his life. In his first two games, he threw nine touchdown passes; the most he has ever thrown in the first two games. He opened his account with 32 completions out of 50 for 379yards against Dallas, and then followed that up the next week with a further 276yards against Atlanta.
Brady’s Bucs are on a ten-game winning streak at the time of writing, and it’s not hard to see why. In those ten games, Brady has thrown over three thousand yards, with an average of three touchdown passes per game.
Can he keep it up?
Quarterbacks in general have long careers, especially when compared to their more combative teammates. Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints is currently 42. Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers is 39 and Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Miami Dolphins is 38. Though credit must go to Andrew Whitworth, the Defensive Tackle for LA Rams, who is still taking the big hits on the line of scrimmage at 39.
George Blanda holds the record as the oldest quarterback to play in the NFL. However, by the time he retired at 48, he was no longer playing in that position, stepping back to take on the kicking duties.
Sporting Veterans
Brady certainly has the ability to prolong his career. Across all sports, the players with the highest skill levels tend to have the longest careers. Serena and Venus Williams are 39 and 41, while Roger Federer is 40. England’s all-time leading fast bowler, Jimmy Anderson, is 39 and still terrifying batters. Even in Formula One, one of the most physically demanding sports, leading drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso are both in their 40s.
The only thing that could stop Brady is his wife, Gisele Bündchen. When asked if she would be happy for him to keep playing, he joked “that is, of course, no, that answer,” before quickly correcting himself. Could the GOAT, so elusive on the pitch, end up getting sacked by his own wife? Only time will tell.
