Tom Brady has retired, and the comparisons to Michael Jordan have already started as both retired as the respective GOATs of their sports.
Advertisement
Brady went out with seven Super Bowl rings, the most in NFL history and more than any other NFL franchise, and he holds 40 other passing and winning records that nobody is probably going to touch for a long time.
Brady and Jordan retired in very different manners. Jordan, in fact, retired three times, once in the middle of building a dynasty, once after the dynasty was over, and finally one more time to end his career once and for all.
Brady, on the other hand, looks like he’s committing to one retirement, as he’s played 22 long years in the NFL, seven more than Jordan. Brady also went out playing some of the best football of his career while with Jordan you could clearly tell that he was at a decline.
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 1, 2022
Julian Edelman compares Tom Brady and his competitive nature to Michael Jordan
Brady’s success was a direct result of his committment to the game. He wouldn’t let anything or anyone distract him from what he wanted to achieve, not even being drafted 199th overall. Once he set his mind on winning, you couldn’t shake him.
Jordan shared this same ‘killer mindset’, and it is what made him the greatest NBA player to ever step on the court. Stories of him trash talking opponents, getting into their heads, and finding ways to exact revenge on those who wronged him are all part of Jordan’s lore.
Brady was similar in many ways, trash-talk and all included, and his former teammate Julian Edelman believed so as well. Soon after Brady’s retirement, Edelman shared his thoughts on how great of a player Brady was, and he immediately referenced Michael Jordan as a comparison.
View this post on Instagram
Edelman had the privilege of playing with Brady for 10 years, winning three Super Bowls along the way. In the postseason, he was routinely Brady’s most reliable target and now has the second most playoff receiving yards all time behind Jerry Rice. If anyone can tell you about Brady, it’s Edelman.
The Jordan comparison is definitely valid, and it’ll be a long time before we get another Brady/Jordan esque player ever again (in both the NBA and NFL).