The NFL has seen a number of fantastic quarterbacks, but arguably none of them will come close to what Tom Brady has accomplished in his legendary career. Not only he made a strong case to be considered the GOAT due to his multiple rings, but he also represents the biggest defier to Father Time.
Following an extremely successful stint with the New England Patriots, where he was the face of one of the greatest dynasties of all time, Brady got back to glory days by leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an unexpected triumph.
He's currently playing his 22nd season in the league and it remains to be seen when the count will stop. Trying to predict his retirement has become something pointless, but Brady himself has admitted he may have considered hanging up the cleats earlier should he and the Patriots won Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants.
Tom Brady reveals Super Bowl XLII loss to Giants may have fueled him to play for so long
"Had we won that game, I'm not a big hypothetical guy, but maybe the desire is a little bit different if you're looking at [a] silver lining," Brady said in Episode 4 of his Man in the Arena series, as quoted by CBS Sports. "Maybe the desire to reach that point, maybe I would have been fulfilled, not to stop playing at that time, but I don't know, maybe I play another seven or eight years and I'm fulfilled.
"Maybe not, but there's not much I can do about it now. Maybe that's the lesson in life. Dealing with what happens, positive [and] negative. You can't change it. You can learn from it and hopefully it can make you a good person and you deal with life in a positive way. And when things don't go your way, appreciate the other people who it goes good for, and then try your hardest to get back there again."
The Patriots made their way to the Super Bowl without dropping a single defeat, which explains why that defeat was so painful for Brady. And he went even further by claiming that was probably the best team in the NFL history, a take that would be practically undeniable should they lifted the trophy at the end.
He has a valid point, following such a perfect year, it would have been hard to feel unsatisfied again. But then again, we also have reasons to believe Brady would still have played for as long as he could to continue chasing success.
