Here are 10 reasons to appreciate Tom Brady as he makes his 10th Super Bowl appearance – Yahoo Sports

If accomplishments and resume matter most and its hard to figure out what would be more important then Tom Brady is clearly the greatest quarterback ever.

The problem is that many still dont want to give Brady his due. There are various weird reasons but all come back to some form of I hate Brady.

If you like and appreciate football, youre missing out on perhaps the greatest career in NFL history.

As Brady gets ready to play Super Bowl No. 10, here are 10 reasons to appreciate one of the all-time greats in any sport:

Most NFLs franchises dont even come close to Bradys Super Bowl history. This one stat sums it up:

The Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys are tied for second all-time with eight Super Bowl appearances. The only NFL franchise with more than 10 Super Bowl appearances is the Patriots, who have appeared in 11. Nine of them were with Brady.

What Brady is doing at age 43 should never be overlooked. Its not just that hes doing well at 43. Hes doing better than every 43-year-old quarterback in NFL history combined. And its not close.

Heres the list of QBs at least 43 in the NFL, before 2020 (via Stathead):

Vinny Testaverde: 96 for 175, 981 yards, 6 TDs, 6 INTsGeorge Blanda: 68 for 135, 955 yards, 12 TDs, 12 INTsSteve DeBerg: 30 of 59, 369 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INTWarren Moon: 16 of 37, 228 yards, 1 TD, 1 INTDoug Flutie: 5 of 10, 29 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs

All quarterbacks 43 or older, combined (before Brady): 215 for 416 (51.7%), 2,562 yards, 22 TDs, 22 INTs, 66.4 passer ratingBrady at age 43: 401 for 610 (65.7%), 4,633 yards, 40 TDs, 12 INTs, 102.2 passer rating

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According to Giants.com, Brady is the oldest player in Super Bowl history at 43 years, 192 days, and the other four in the top five are all kickers or punters:

Tom Brady, Tampa Bay (LV) - 43 years, 192 days

Matt Stover, Indianapolis (XLIV) - 42 years, 11 days

Jeff Feagles, New York Giants (XLII) - 41 years, 333 days

Matt Bryant, Atlanta (LI) - 41 years, 252 days

Mike Horan, St. Louis (XXXIV) - 40 years, 363 days

Usually when a player switches teams late in his career, it doesnt turn out well. Cue all the jokes about Johnny Unitas with the Chargers or Joe Namath with the Rams.

Its very rare for a quarterback to lead two different franchises to the Super Bowl. Only three have done it before Brady: Kurt Warner, Craig Morton and Peyton Manning. Only Manning started and won Super Bowls with two different teams. And the 2015 version of Manning, who struggled all season and was helped immensely by a great Broncos defense, is nowhere near this seasons version of Brady.

Whats more, if Brady wins Super Bowl LV, hell be the first player in the history of the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL to win championships with two different teams past the age of 40.

Tom Brady has more Super Bowl rings than anyone else in NFL history, with a chance to add a seventh Sunday. He has few contemporaries in the history of American sports when it comes to titles and MVPs.

ESPN shared some trivia that puts in perspective how impressive Bradys career has been. In the histories of the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, only six athletes have seven championships and two MVPs: Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics, Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens, and Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees. Thats quite a group Brady could join.

Its hard to say what the most impressive Brady feat is, but putting together what amounts to two Hall of Fame careers is up there.

If you took Bradys career from 2001-2010, and then judged 2011-2020 on its own, both resumes would be good enough for the Hall.

That speaks to Bradys consistency and his longevity too.

Brady played so well at age 43 that theres no reason to believe he wont be playing next season at age 44. He said this week that he will definitely consider playing past age 45.

Brady is first in NFL history in passing touchdowns and second in yards, and hell pass Drew Brees in the latter category early next season if Brees retires. He can put those records far out of reach. When you add in Bradys postseason stats, you see the heights he can reach:

If Brady decides to play until after age 45, 100,000 passing yards (including postseason) isnt out of the question. Let that sink in.

Of course, Brady could retire at any time. Theres nothing left for him to prove. But he sounds like a player who wants to play as long as he can.

One of the best random facts about Brady is that Antoine Winfield Sr. once picked off Brady. One of Bradys teammates on this Buccaneers team is Antoine Winfield Jr.

You have probably heard that Patrick Mahomes was in kindergarten when Brady won his first Super Bowl.

There are nine Chiefs and 14 Buccaneers players who have turned 30 already. The rest of the players in Super Bowl LV are in their 20s, meaning they were in elementary school when Brady was drafted.

Josh Dubow of the Associated Press had a phenomenal fact about some Hall of Famers who started their careers after Brady and are already in the Hall of Fame following the five-year waiting period.

CBS list of players who have been out of the NFL for a while but are still younger than Brady is surprising too.

It seems accurate to say Bradys postseason records wont be topped.

Brady has 80 postseason touchdowns. Joe Montana and Aaron Rodgers are tied for second ... with 45.

Heres a stat from @MySportsUpdate: If you removed all the touchdown passes from Brady to Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, Wes Welker, Chris Hogan and Danny Amendola, Brady would have 46 career postseason touchdowns. That would still be the record.

If you use the term greatest athlete, that changes the argument. Then we get bogged down in debating Bradys 40 time and his vertical leap.

If were talking about who has been the most accomplished player in any major American sport, its hard to argue Bradys resume doesnt stack up well with Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, LeBron James, Babe Ruth, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps or anyone else in the argument. Brady plays the toughest position in sports and is doing things no other quarterback has come close to matching.

Well leave this debate on pause and revisit if Bradys Buccaneers can win on Sunday. Enjoy it, because Bradys run wont last forever.

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Here are 10 reasons to appreciate Tom Brady as he makes his 10th Super Bowl appearance - Yahoo Sports