Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees pumped the brakes on the ongoing Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes comparisons when it comes to the greatest of all time.
“It’s early from the perspective that even though [Mahomes has] done stuff that’s unprecedented, there’s a longevity component that goes to that, right?” Brees told Sports Illustrated. “What Tom Brady did was unprecedented. He played 23 seasons—10 Super Bowl appearances, seven wins.
“Look, Patrick Mahomes will go down as one of the greatest of all time, but there’s a longevity component that needs to go with all of those accomplishments as well.”
Drew Brees says it’s “too early” to put Patrick Mahomes in the GOAT conversation pic.twitter.com/x1aLOqwfYM
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 9, 2025
Brees’ opinion counts for a lot, considering he’s a former Super Bowl champion who helped define an era of all-time great quarterbacks that included Brady.
There’s no denying Mahomes’ greatness early in his career. He’s the current face of the NFL after catapulting the Kansas City Chiefs from cellar-dwellers to a powerhouse franchise. Despite losing at Super Bowl LIX, it was still his third Super Bowl appearance in a row.
With that said, he has an uphill battle when it comes to surpassing Tom Brady in the longevity race. Brady spent the better part of two decades dominating the NFL.
Nevertheless, Mahomes is still running the race, and the fact remains that he’s already become one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game at 29 years old.