Tom Brady, arguably the greatest NFL player of all time, is reportedly set to retire after 22 outstanding seasons and an extraordinary career.

While Brady’s numbers speak for themselves, the 44-year-old is regarded as the greatest of all time for various reasons.

First and foremost, Brady’s trophy cabinet is probably full: 10 Super Bowl appearances, seven Super Bowl wins, five Super Bowl MVPs, three NFL MVPs, the list goes on.

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Second, Brady’s numbers are nigh untouchable: he is the most capped quarterback in the NFL, holds the most number of NFL championships for an individual player (7), has the most number of career passing attempts (11,317), the most career passing yards (84,520), and innumerable other records all of which cannot be listed.

Third, in a team sport such as football, contributions to the team often outweigh individual performances. Despite being a brilliant individual quarterback, Brady always put his team first in his lengthy career, evident in his passing stats: Brady is the all-time Super Bowl passing MVP.

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Fourth, Brady took his teams (first the New England Patriots, and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) to a record seven Super Bowl wins, the most by any individual player, and he did it with less talent on paper than many teams had.

Last but not least, Brady stood the test of time in a physically demanding sport, and remained the best defying his age. While Brady did lose some mobility, he went on to take the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win at the age of 43, a feat few can boast of.