With Tom Brady’s latest Super Bowl win possibly cementing his status as the greatest American football player of all-time, it’s also sparked debates about who is the greatest athlete of all-time?
Serious question. If Tom Brady having won more Super Bowls than every franchise in the NFL history isn't the most amazing individual statistic in sports, what is?
— Stewart Flaherty (@stewartflaherty) February 8, 2021
There are a lot of factors to be considered – is it based on playoff success? Longevity? Total points? Gaps between all-time points production and next most successful athlete in the same sport? Success across different teams? Does it matter if its success in team sports vs. someone who excelled in an individual sport? What about the demands of the sport itself? Or the position someone plays within that sport? Do we take into account biases based on recency? Gender? Race?
Anyhow, I came across this guy as one suggestion of a strong (literally!) contender for the GOAT title and I’m not going to argue!