Who is the greatest player of all time? It’s one of the oldest rowdy disputes in sports history. How are you expected to measure it with all the different players and styles of play throughout NFL history? As the NFL pre-season kicks off on 13th August and the competitive season commencing on September 9th, now is the perfect time to register yourself with an online bookmarker and use OddsNinja Betting Guide to get the best promotions and bonuses so you can enhance your playing experience.
Tom Brady (Patriots, 2000-Current)
Tom Brady is living proof that intangibles are considerably more important than raw talent when it comes to the quarterback position in the NFL. Look at Brady’s resume: 5 Super Bowl titles, 4 Super Bowl MVPs, 2 NFL MVPs, and 12 Pro Bowl appearances. But this may be the most astounding statistic: Brady has played 16 NFL seasons, excluding the 2008 season when he was injured in week 1 and missed the rest of the season (not including 2017). Brady has appeared in seven Super Bowls in his 16 NFL seasons.
That means he’s appeared in the Super Bowl in nearly half of the NFL seasons he’s played! Whether you like him or not, you can’t dispute that he’s a champion. Tom Brady has won the AFC East 14 times (an NFL record) and has a record of 214 victories and only 63 defeats in his career. Not bad for a player who was drafted 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Jerry Rice (Raiders, Seahawks, 1985-2004)
Jerry Rice’s statistics are well-known, including NFL records for touchdowns (205), receptions (1,519), and receiving yards (1,519). (22,466). On paper, those figures may not seem impressive, but let’s compare Rice to the #2 player to put things in context. Ready…? Rice has more touchdowns and receiving yards than any other player in NFL history, with 33 and 6,961 yards respectively.
That’s three to five further Pro-Bowl-calibre seasons! Rice’s work ethic, though, set him apart. Rice’s work ethic was, and still is, unmatched, and it’s one of the reasons he’s considered one of the greatest players in NFL history. He made significant receptions not only in the games that didn’t matter, but also in the games that did.
Jim Brown (Browns, 1957-1965)
Jim Brown, at 6ft 2 and 230 pounds, he separated the men amongst the boys. Brown outgrew his opponents in terms of size, speed, and strength. He was too quick for linemen and line-backers to tackle him, and he was too strong for defensive backs to stop him. Brown won eight running crowns during his nine seasons in the NFL (1957-1965), and he retired with every key record in the league.
Although other back liners have exceeded Brown in the record books, fans should keep in mind that the regular season was 12 games from 1957 to 1960 and 14 games from 1961 to 1965 when Brown was active. Brown holds the record for most yards per game (104.3) in NFL history, which he has held since 1965.
