The NFL has wrapped up preseason play and as the regular season starts in nine days, I will admit one thing; Tom Brady gets under my skin, but he should get under yours too.  

Many think that I dislike Brady just because I am a Chiefs fan and obviously Brady beat us in Super Bowl LV but trust me, there are many more reasons.  

Now, I am not going to deny the fact that Brady has talent, it is obvious. He has managed to win seven Super Bowl titles in the 23 years that he has been in the NFL. He also holds almost every quarterback record including passing yards, completions, touchdown passes, and games started.  

He was recently voted the number one quarterback by the other players in the league in the Top 100 Players poll that the NFL does every year. That is great and all but that brings me to my first point; Brady is not the “greatest of all time.” 

As a sports fan, I am so tired of seeing the term “GOAT” be thrown around on social media, especially on Twitter. As soon as a player from a professional sport begins to show a little bit of promise, without fail, fans and others start calling them the “GOAT.”  

Every year, I see multiple people call Brady the “GOAT,” especially around the start of postseason play. Even the official NFL Twitter and Instagram are hardcore Brady fans. The overuse of the term “GOAT” completely takes away from professional athletes who truly deserve recognition, especially women athletes.  

Simone Biles has six Olympic medals, four of them are gold. She has also won 25 World Championships medals, 19 of them are gold. Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, making her the most successful tennis player in the Open era of tennis. Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in both the heptathlon and long jump at four different Olympic Games.  

I would argue that all three of those women are the “GOAT” and deserve much more recognition than what they receive. The bottom line is that the list of successful and talented athletes will continue to grow but the overuse of the term “GOAT” needs to stop unless it is used to describe an athlete who truly deserves it, not just when fans decide it is convenient. 

Another thing that Brady is known for is his entitlement. Brady is number nine on Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes of 2022 with reported earnings of $83.9 million for the year. However, that apparently is not enough money for Brady to stuff his pockets with. 

Brady owns his own brand called TB12, INC. and that business received up to $1 million in federal funding through the Paycheck Protection Program, according to sportskeeda.com. PPP was meant to keep small businesses alive during the pandemic and 52% of small businesses did not receive any funding, according to sportskeeda.com.  

Keep in mind that Brady is worth $200 million. Brady took the $1 million in PPP money and purchased a 40-foot yacht named Viva A Vida after his wife, according to sportskeeda.com. Brady does not care about anyone aside from his reflection in the mirror of his mansion.  

The same energy transfers to his attitude on the football field. Aside from the many tantrums that Brady has thrown on the sidelines, during the 2020 season, he refused to shake hands with two opposing quarterbacks after losses, of course. 

The first was Nick Foles, the quarterback for the Chicago Bears that season. The second one was Jared Golf, the quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, according to CBS Sports. Many will try to argue that it was a COVID-19 protocol and that Brady was trying to protect his health. That is so insufferably untrue as he shook hands with every other quarterback that season, according to CBS Sports.  

One of the things that I admire about Patrick Mahomes is that he is quick to find the opposing quarterback after the game, no matter what the final score is, and gives them a hug, fist bump or handshake. It should not be hard for Brady to figure out how to do the same, but maybe he should take notes just in case.  

I could write forever about why I cannot stand Tom Brady and the people that worship the ground that he walks on. 

Autumn Schulz can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]