Big Ben & Tom Brady: Two GOATs at the Mountain Top

In contrast, Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and perhaps the greatest NFL player ever, is still in his first act. Technically, it’s been a first act of many phases and chapters, each one compiling a career that refuses to conclude on anyone else’s terms - much like a team down 28-3 in the Super Bowl. Since the beginning of the year, Brady faced mostly unsubstantiated rumors of his retirement before finally, supposedly, retiring for real at the beginning of February. But by now, we all know the story. Brady is indeed back, much like an aging phoenix whose act has grown old and tiresome for everyone outside Tampa Bay.

In the wake of Brady’s un-retirement, NFL personalities poured over footage of Brady in a conversation with Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch of Manchester United, reading lips and guessing at Brady’s words like a conspiracy theorist with the Zapruder Film. In the video, Brady appears to offer more than a definitive “yes” or “no” when asked by Ronaldo if he was really finished with the NFL. But Brady’s return was indeed official.

NFL pundits later pondered on-air whether we were all taken for a ride by the Brady hype machine. Was it a simple act of vanity for Brady? Had he staged his “retirement” to feel wanted and needed again? Or had he just stepped out of the limelight as many often do only to find they’re not where they’re meant to be?

Naturally, the incident stirred up ratings and endless debate for sports talk shows on television and radio. Even Brady’s father suggested the media coaxed Brady into retirement by spreading rumors, prompting many to fall ever deeper into the NFL offseason news cycle. However, we shouldn’t confuse the tail wagging the dog in Brady’s case. In the end, Brady chose this media circus for better or worse, knowing all will be forgotten at the kickoff of the 2022 season.

Regardless of how many years Brady has left, both he and Ben have taken divergent paths to the mountaintop. On one hand, Brady has favored the empirical science of health and nutrition to prolong his career when other quarterbacks would’ve long since retired. Truly, a quarterback who has every intention of playing into his fifties is territory only George Blanda is familiar with, and Brady has mastered the art of making every second count in the twilight of his career.

In his touted TB12 program, Brady charted a course of self-promotion and self-help for wannabe quarterbacks, mythologizing his own story of sustained excellence on the football field in the hopes that others will buy in. Along the way, TB12 has been described by some as “pseudoscience,” alienating many and at the very least, making Brady a target of harmless jokes for his gluten-free diet and preference for avocado ice cream.

And then there’s Ben, a quarterback as defiant of recent trends in dieting and health as he is of tacklers bearing down from inside the pocket. In comparing himself to Brady, Big Ben openly defied the TB12 method, proclaiming his distaste for avocado ice cream and only adhering to a more strict diet and workout regimine when his 2019 season ended prematurely due to an injured elbow. So perhaps there was some bitterness in the somewhat playful tweet Brady had sent in the aftermath of Ben’s retirement.

“Ben defied the TB12 Method in favor of the ‘Throw Some Ice On It’ method his whole career, and ended up an all-time-great with 6 Pro-Bowls and 2 Super Bowls,” Brady tweeted in late January. “There’s more than one way to bake a cake!”

Now, Ben can have as much cake as he wants, hopefully with an “18” in candles for 18 NFL seasons, all perched atop a thick layer of icing.

At one time, the Hall of Fame in Canton prepared to welcome both QBs into their halls five years from now per their eligibility requirements. But Brady preferred another crack at a championship. If Tampa wins their third Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2022 season, it will be 8 Lombardis for Brady, four times Ben’s career total. But what’s been missing in this whirlwind few months is the heart of football.

After Ben’s final home game at Heinz Field, Ben achieved a measure of revenge on the Cleveland Browns, winning 26-14. But more important to Ben was how he left the stadium. Through the tunnels, Ben was embraced by family and walked hand-in-hand with his children into the next phase of his life. Whether it’s broadcasting, a common career choice for retired players, or continued charity work, Ben set his own course his whole career and continues to play by his own rules. At the end of the day, Ben is just different. It’s a quality we should all admire.