Mike Francesa says Tom Brady isn't the best regular-season, Super Bowl quarterback
After 23 remarkable seasons, QB Tom Brady retired from the NFL "for good" on Wednesday, ending arguably the greatest career in sports history.
The 45-year-old's announcement came at the perfect time for the latest episode of ESPN's "First Take," which featured a "Mike and the Mad Dog" reunion. Radio legend Mike Francesa joined hosts Stephen A. Smith and Chris Russo with his fastball still intact and discussed Brady's legacy.
"Tom Brady made himself great," Francesa said. "He wasn't great. He wasn't great in college. He lost his job, which is what fueled him his whole life. He was the most competitive person anybody ever met, and he worked harder than anybody ever to be this good."
Building on his hot take, Francesa added, "Now, I'm going to throw a little oil on the ceremony. He [Brady] is not the best regular-season quarterback I've ever seen. Peyton Manning was. He's not the best Super Bowl quarterback who ever lived. Joe Montana is."
"What he is, though, is the guy who played the longest, and he won the most games. He won the most Super Bowls, so he will be remembered because nobody is gonna play 23 years, and nobody's probably ever gonna have a chance to win that many Super Bowls."
Smith initially labeled Francesa's remarks as "blasphemous rhetoric," but he eventually admitted "he's right," with Russo agreeing.
Regardless of his opinion, Francesa doesn't mind people calling Brady the greatest QB ever. He emphasized Brady's longevity and Super Bowl wins matter because that's "how we keep score" when comparing athletes' legacies.
However, if he had to choose one QB to win a single game, Francesa said he'd pick Montana because he's 4-0 with zero interceptions in his four Super Bowl appearances.
Wins and losses aren't always the best metrics when debating quarterbacks; context matters. Even though Brady has lost three Super Bowls, it's hard to maintain a perfect record over ten appearances. Having six more Super Bowl appearances and three more rings should give Brady the advantage over Montana.
On the other hand, Manning's argument as the greatest regular-season quarterback isn't too outlandish.
Manning’s a five-time MVP Award winner and earned first-team All-Pro honors seven times, while Brady's a three-time MVP and three-time first-team All-Pro despite having played six more seasons than Manning. "The Sheriff" also broke Brady's single-season passing TD record, which he still holds (55).
The newly retired Brady finished his career with 102,614 passing yards, 737 TD passes, and 252 interceptions in 383 games, including playoffs. He'll be joining Fox Sports as an analyst, but Francesa told "First Take" that he doubts the transition will be successful.
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