Max Kellerman spent years trying to predict Tom Brady's demise, oftentimes moving the goal post to fit his narrative that someday the quarterback's production would "fall off a cliff."
"Tom Brady is going to be a bum in short order," Kellerman said on ESPN's "First Take" in 2016.
Well, to say Kellerman was wrong would be an understatement. Not only did Brady play six more seasons after Kellerman's comment, winning three more Super Bowl titles in the process. The quarterback never really regressed, even during the 2021 campaign at age 44.
So, when news broke Saturday that Brady reportedly is retiring after 22 NFL seasons, Kellerman took to Twitter with a perfect response.
"Well played @TomBrady," he wrote.
And when someone replied that Brady had "finally hit the cliff," Kellerman replied, "No. He never did."
Kellerman finally admitted during Brady's continued excellence with the New England Patriots and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he was wrong about his infamous "cliff" take. It took a while for him to own up to it, though, and it became a running joke just how wrong Kellerman was in his assessment.
It's fitting, then, as Brady reportedly walks away with seven rings and even more NFL records in his back pocket that Kellerman simply give a tip of the cap to the greatest quarterback who ever lived.
