Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tom Brady retired (again) on Wednesday, leaving a humongous ghost for the rest of the NFL to chase.
He retired with seven Super Bowl championships, which is more than any team in the league can boast.
Most Super Bowl Wins in NFL History
Tom Brady 7
Patriots 6
Steelers 6
49ers 5
Cowboys 5 pic.twitter.com/8uXpNNyFND— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 1, 2023
Of course, Brady won six of his world titles with the New England Patriots, with whom he created a legitimate dynasty.
The dynasty began with something of a Cinderella story, as Brady was originally a sixth-round draft choice and a backup to Drew Bledsoe, who wasn’t a bad QB in his own right.
But when Bledsoe got injured during the 2001 season, Brady stepped in and took the Patriots all the way, as they took the Vince Lombardi Trophy by beating the then-mighty St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl.
They claimed two more championships in the next three seasons, and although Brady was becoming a somewhat consistent Pro Bowl selection, some wondered if he was really all that.
After two Super Bowl losses to Eli Manning and the New York Giants in 2007 and 2011, Brady claimed three more Super Bowl victories, and if there was any doubt that he was the greatest ever, he got himself a seventh in his first season with the Bucs.
Now, a young crop of QBs, including Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, will attempt to chase Brady’s legacy and carve out a special place for themselves in the history books.
Of the teams that are chasing Brady’s seven rings, the one that is closest is the San Francisco 49ers, who came up short in the NFC Championship Game after losing signal-caller Brock Purdy to a torn UCL in his elbow.
The game is in good hands even without Brady, thanks to superstars such as Mahomes and Burrow and elite, perennial contenders such as the 49ers and Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs.
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