“Tom Brady Isn’t the Greatest Athlete”: Stephen A. Smith Viciously Rejects Claim About NFL GOAT Despite Amassing $550 Million

"Tom Brady Isn't the Greatest Athlete": Stephen A. Smith Viciously Rejects Claim About NFL GOAT Despite Amassing $550 Million

Tom Brady is easily considered to be the NFL GOAT, but if you ask Stephen A. Smith, he’s definitely not ready to crown Brady as the most outstanding athlete. In his career, Brady has amassed $550 million, according to Marca, however, Stephen A. Smith believes that there is a major difference between the word “athlete” and Brady. At first, it may sound like Smith is out of his mind, but his justification for the difference between Brady and an athlete in the traditional sense of the word makes sense.

As we all know, there’s a reason Brady is considered the greatest quarterback of all time. He was drafted in the sixth round with pick 199, and he worked himself to be the best to have ever played the game. He finished his career with seven Super Bowls, more than any other team in NFL history. That’s a testament to the kind of competitor and winner he was. He also owns every major passing record, both in the regular season and postseason, indicating his dominance and longevity.

Breaking down why Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think Tom Brady is the greatest athlete

So, why exactly does Smith believe that Brady isn’t the greatest athlete? Well, it comes down to the very definition of the word athlete itself.

When you think of Brady, you think of his intelligence, accuracy on the field, and drive to be the best ever. He was a great passer and a great visionary of the game. However, was he really the most athletic? He wasn’t fast, he wasn’t the most agile or the highest jumper.

He wasn’t anything special athletically when you look at it that way. Of course, that’s not to take away from the physically demanding nature of his position and the game. Brady was tough, and he definitely had a great ability to stand tall in the pocket, take hits, and deliver the football to his targets. This is exactly what Smith was trying to get at.

However, this opens up the question of who the greatest athlete is. Is it someone like LeBron James who has all the gifts that Brady doesn’t? Or is it someone like Messi who plays perhaps the most athletically demanding sport?

Can you even include team athletes at all? In theory, the most athletic athletes are the ones that have to rely completely on their bodies and abilities.

Then, would it be someone like Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt, athletes who can claim they’re the fastest in the world at something? It’s an interesting conversation and something to think about with Stephen A. Smith’s statement about Brady.

Smith makes some outlandish claims about Brady

While Smith spoke some truth about Tom Brady as an athlete, he also had some other rather crazier claims. He claimed that Brady was neither the greatest regular season quarterback nor the greatest Super Bowl quarterback.

The regular season claim may be valid. Peyton Manning won the MVP award five times, more than anyone in NFL history, and has the greatest quarterback season under his belt.

However, Smith’s claim about the Super Bowl is hard to consider. Brady has led two of the greatest comebacks in Super Bowl history, including the greatest Super Bowl comeback.

He also has the Super Bowl passing record when he threw for over 500 yards in the loss to the Eagles. Claiming Brady hasn’t been the greatest Super Bowl quarterback is a wild claim when you also consider he’s been to 10 title games. No other quarterback can match that, not even Joe Montana.

Post Edited By: Jatin Hasija
NFL Stephen A Smith Tom Brady

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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