Jerry Rice explains why Joe Montana is the GOAT ahead of Tom Brady

Every sport has its legends and biggest icons. And, as you may know by now, most of the GOAT rankings are always subjective. I mean, there are some facts, stats, and accolades no one can ignore; but at the end of the day, your perception of a player will always impact the way you rank him.

That’s why it’s always been so difficult to agree on who the greatest of all time is, especially in the NFL. Old-school fans will lean towards a former legend of the game, while younger enthusiasts will most likely say that football is better nowadays.

Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, are just a handful of the names we often hear when discussing the best quarterback in football history, yet no one seems to be on the same page at the end of the debate.

Jerry Rice Says Joe Montana, Not Tom Brady, Is The Greatest Quarterback Ever

Then again, if you ask Jerry Rice, he’s got a pretty straight-forward answer:Joe Montana should be considered the GOAT ahead of Tom Brady because the league protects offensive players nowadays:

“I’m going to go with Joe Montana because, like I said, it was a different era,” Rice said on 95-7 The Fan. “Not taking anything away from what’s happening today, but you look at the game today, the way it’s played, you look at how receivers are protected – I never thought I would see an era where the running back doesn’t have to be on the ground for them to stop the play because this, to me, is supposed to be tackle football. So, it’s a whole different era, and I would go with Montana any day because he was Joe Cool, and he was in an era where he was not as protected,“ he said.

Well, he’s got a valid point. Joe Montana put some incredible numbers during a time the league was more run-heavy than it is nowadays. Also, there weren’t that many rules to protect receivers and quarterbacks.

Then again, that’s also the reason why we can’t compare players from different eras. Perhaps Tom Brady would be just an average quarterback 40 years ago, perhaps he would’ve been even better. There’s no point in comparing, so let’s just enjoy watching him play while we still can.