Was Tom Brady a great player? It depends what you mean by ‘great’

When faced with the opportunity to make better choices, he opted not to

Tom Brady ha anunciado su retiro (Matt Patterson/AP) (AP)

I know what you’re thinking: it’s sad to see him go. By “him” I mean the carb-abstaining, nightshade-avoiding, alcohol-disdaining, ice cream-dissing, GOAT quarterback, Tom Brady, who spent most of his career grinning for the New England Patriots and, more recently, for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Today, after days of avoiding a maelstrom of swirling rumors, Brady made it official. The guy is retiring. Long live the GOAT.

But wait. Is it fair to give Tom Brady so much praise? When we talk about Brady the football star, we talk about stats, mostly: a 22-year career in which he started 316 games, played an all-time record of 243-73-0, completed 7,263 of 11,317 attempts, and amassed an impossible-seeming 84,520 passing yards. By most metrics, these statistics are stunning. Brady does not hold the record for longest-playing quarterback (George Blanda, who played for 26 seasons, until the age of 48, holds that record), but he has the most Super Bowl wins: seven big ones.

It’s hard to deny Brady’s ability when it comes to playing football. Is there anyone better? I’m not sure. There may be no better quarterback when it comes to the technical aspect of the position. But when it comes to being a person who plays and promotes football, well, there certainly are better role models. So before we wax poetic about Tom Brady’s no doubt impressive career on the field, let’s not forget the person he has been off of it.

In 2020, multiple outlets reported that Brady’s company, TB12, received over $960,000 in a Paycheck Protection Program loan, a loan program enacted in the early months of the pandemic and designed to help small business persevere under extremely trying financial situations. Despite his own financial solvency — his two-year contract with the Buccaneers paid $50 million — Brady has not returned the loan. In the same year, he made a number of lavish purchases, including a yacht. Many were critical of Brady’s acceptance of the loan, considering many other small businesses had been forced to shut down after Covid-related financial hardship.

Last February, when the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, I pointed out how frequently Brady had opted to ignore masking regulations. Yes, Brady now plays in Florida, where masking is optional (or, if you’re Ron DeSantis, frowned upon). But Brady is also a national figure, and an idol for young kids all around the country. The same pseudoscienist who claims to know more about nutrition than you do — avoid these vegetables, and caffeine, and alcohol, and dairy, and sugar, and gluten, he claims — apparently has no regard for actual science, which says that, yes, masks do work.

In the coming days and week, Brady’s career will be met with breathless revelry. We’ll hear about how no one won as many rings, about how his discipline made him better as he grew older, about how his abilities seemed boundless. But the work of an athlete — the work of a public figure, indeed — is not only how you perform on the field. After Brady won the Super Bowl (which comes with its own payout of $130,000, in addition to other team-based incentives), a petition emerged on Change.org, urging the player to return his nearly million-dollar PPP loan. That petition, with its over 150,000 signatures, went unanswered. Instead, Brady went on to play another year of football, paycheck in hand. Is he a great player? I guess it depends on how you define the word ‘great’.

Statistically, there is no denying that Tom Brady will occupy a hallowed place in NFL history. When we look back on his legacy, though, I hope we remember that he was not just American football’s golden boy. He was an athlete, yes, and a good one. Maybe he was one of the best athletes to play the sport.

He was also selfish. When faced with the opportunity to make better choices, he opted not to. I hope that we remember these details about him, too. It’s convenient to scream ‘GOAT’ at the mere mention of the name Tom Brady. Personally, when I think back on the quarterback who wore a Patriots jersey for the better part of two decades, I wonder who else could have benefited from $960,000 in the middle of a pandemic.