Tom Brady: I doubt any QB will match my long-term dominance

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When NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal asked him who “the next Tom” was going to be, Brady said “it’s going to be interesting” but cast doubt whether anyone would be able to match his game play.

“I think when I’m looking at guys in pro football, quarterbacks, you know, Patrick [Mahomes] is the one that really stands out. They’ve done a great job since he’s really taken over. He’s got a really great coach … that helps you and is there for you when things are going good, and not good. Gives you the humble pie when things are going good, and knows how to pick you up when things aren’t good. But people have to do it for a long time. I did it for a long time. When I look at my career, I was able to do it every single year for basically every single game.”

Brady says that he only missed games twice (when he was suspended over the Deflategate controversy and when he tore his ACL in 2008) and while he wasn’t always “perfect” almost every time he took the field he “was pretty good.”

“I never put our team in a position to lose,” he said. “There are very few guys like that, that I’m watching over and over and over.”

But the five-time NFL MVP said that because the game has evolved to see so many emerging quarterbacks running the ball, he isn’t sure that kind of play can endure for 20-plus seasons.

“It just makes for a shorter career,” he said. “Running quarterbacks don’t last that long. So I don’t know who can play 21 years, I really don’t. I know what it took, and it took a lot. I’m sure some of the people have ambitions to try, but there are a lot of things that need to go your way. The only reason why I was able to do it was because I had so many people there to support me — physically, mentally, emotionally.”

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