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New England Patriots legend Tom Brady might be the GOAT, but he believes Aaron Rodgers is the game's greatest passer.

It may be hard to remember now, but there was a time when the hot take sports shows had a serious conversation about who was better, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. The New England Patriots legend ended up pulling away as the GOAT, even if Rodgers is still headed to the Hall of Fame.

Certainly, Rodgers has earned the respect of Brady over the years. That’s why he even recently called Rodgers the greatest passer of the football.

“I think there’s no greater passer of the football than Aaron Rodgers,” Brady said on Stick to Football. “There’s certain people, you see everyone do it, and then you see one person throw the ball that much better. Aaron Rodgers was incredible.”

There is, of course, more that goes into being a quarterback than just passing the ball, but it is a key piece of the description. It’s also a piece of the job, Rodgers, like Brady said, dominated in his prime.

“It’s hard to put into words how incredible he passes the ball,” Brady said. “The way it comes out of his hand, the way it spins and delivers with the pace and the accuracy. There’s only probably three people in the history of the NFL that could do it like him.”

Recency bias can be harsh on Rodgers, given the struggles he’s had since leaving the Green Bay Packers. Still, with a Super Bowl and four MVP awards, Rodgers has a long list of accomplishments to hang his hat on. Those accomplishments just don’t compare to Brady overall.

Tom Brady Edges Aaron Rodgers in the Head-to-Head Battle

On the field, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers  have met six times. That’s five regular-season games and one playoff game. Not surprisingly, Brady has the edge.

Brady’s teams are 3-2 in the regular season and 1-0 in the playoffs against Rodgers’ teams. That playoff game, of course, was after Brady had left the Patriots and landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That was an NFC Championship that propelled Tampa Bay to the Super Bowl.

In five regular-season games, Brady’s numbers are dominant in head-to-head meetings. He completed 65.9% of his passes for 1,220 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions against Rodgers’ teams. Meanwhile, Rodgers completed 58.3% for 1,074 yards and 6 touchdowns to 3 interceptions against Brady’s teams. It’s not an entirely fair comparison, given that the two didn’t share the field, but it’s a clear edge in Brady’s favor.

Outside of head-to-head matchups, and for their career, Brady has just about more accolades in every way than Rodgers. Only MVPs, which Rodgers has four of compared to Brady’s three, go Rodgers’ way.

Of course, when looking at their counting stats, there is no comparison. Brady played in 335 games, compared to Rodgers’ still growing 264 games. In that time, he put up 89,214 yards and 649 touchdowns, compared to 66,274 yards and 527 touchdowns from Rodgers.

Patriots Legend Bill Belichick Reflected on Partnership with Tom Brady

For the vast majority of his career, Tom Brady played for New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. That partnership saw the two win six Super Bowls together, and even with an awkward ending, it’s a time that Belichick now looks back fondly on.

“I learned so much from Tom,” Belichick said this Spring. “I never played quarterback. Tom saw the game through a quarterback’s eyes. I saw the game through a coach’s eyes. Together, I think we both learned a lot from each other — Tom on how defensive coaches looked at him or looked at offense, and me on what a quarterback can do and what he can’t do, what’s hard, what’s easy, what I can see, what I can’t see, and how you see the game.”

Tom Brady would, of course, go on to win another Super Bowl with another team and another coach. Meanwhile, Bill Belichick was unable to ever replace Brady with the Patriots, and eventually had his own awkward exit from New England.