Tom Brady’s impending free agency remains a hot topic. But now he’s being compared to an NBA great.
Brady is set to hit the open market when NFL free agency begins March 18 after a 20-year stint with the New England Patriots. There are three teams rumored to have interest in the quarterback, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are favored to sign Brady and have made their intentions “loud and clear” of late.
While this has been a historic time for the Patriots quarterback, who’s entering free agency for the first time in his NFL career, it’s not the first time similar circumstances have occurred in the sports world. Skip Bayless drew an interesting comparison on Monday’s episode of “Undisputed.”
“If in fact Tom Brady hits the open market… for me (it) is like Michael Jordan becoming a free agent after winning the championship in 1998 in Chicago,” Bayless said. “He’s at the end of his prime, but still barely inside his prime, and I still believe Tom Brady can take a good team to a championship.”
Skip: Tom Brady on the open market is like MJ becoming a FA after his title in 1998 pic.twitter.com/9mMAbCsc2d
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) March 16, 2020
Of course, there are a few differences between their respective situations. Unlike Jordan, Brady is not coming off a championship title. He and the Patriots made an early exit during the 2019 postseason, losing 20-13 to the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round. Brady’s final play of the game was a pick-six, in which Titans’ Logan Ryan snatched the pass intended for Mohamed Sanu and ran it nine yards for a touchdown with 15 seconds on the clock.
That’s not to say Brady’s legacy is defined by what could be his last play in New England. The 42-year-old is a six-time Super Bowl champ, 14-time Pro Bowler and three-time MVP. Jordan, on the other hand, is a six-time NBA champ, 14-time All-Star and six-time Finals MVP.
Judging by those numbers, perhaps the two have more in common after all. At least, about as much in common as you could have across two different sports leagues.
