In general, professional sports are a world of young people; When an athlete reaches 30 years old, he is usually counting down the days until retirement. he drew brees and tom brady, however they play by their own rules. both quarterbacks are still going strong, even though their 40th birthday is already in the rearview mirror.
in the nfc divisional round, drew brees and tom brady will meet in what is jokingly known as a “history channel” matchup. With that billing in mind, which quarterback is really older?
tom brady entered the nfl in 2000 and never looked back
related: tom brady has already decided his destiny for the 2021 season
Currently, Tom Brady has earned a reputation as possibly the best quarterback professional football has ever seen. at one point, however, he didn’t even look like a legitimate starter.
after playing his college ball in michigan, brady entered the 2000 nfl draft; When he reached the sixth round, the Patriots decided to take a flyer on the quarterback. While no one expected much (Robert Kraft remembered the rookie as a “skinny lanky” and Draw Bledsoe thought he would be a career backup for him), Brady had other plans.
During the Patriots’ second game of the 2001 campaign, Bledsoe left the game after taking a heavy hit from Mo Lewis; That put Brady in charge of the offense. he started the team’s next game and from there, the rest is history.
While he has obviously changed teams since then, Brady is still going strong in his 21st NFL season. Along the way, he won more than 200 regular season games and, of course, six Super Bowl titles. The quarterback also took home three NFL MVP awards, was named to 14 pro bowls, and earned just about every honor imaginable.
drew brees has proven doubters wrong during his 20 nfl seasons
related: draw brees overcame a hurdle that prevented him from working on television next season
tom brady is not the only quarterback who overcame many questions to become an nfl star. Drew Brees had a similar experience.
Coming out of high school, Brees didn’t get much attention from the big-name NCAA shows; he ended up taking his talent to perfection, where he posted mind-boggling offensive numbers. However, when it came time to turn pro, NFL scouts were still skeptical about whether a short quarterback who thrived in the extended offense could make it in the NFL.
brees eventually joined the san diego chargers as a second round pick and took over the starting job during his second season. however, his troubles were not over yet. In 2004, Shippers acquired Philip Rivers; While Brees retained the top spot, he suffered a career-threatening labral tear the following year.
after that injury, it didn’t seem like a big market for brees; He declined the Chargers’ incentive-based offer and ended up joining the New Orleans Saints in free agency. that move ended up making the difference.
Brees and head coach Sean Payton ended up forming a great partnership, and the Saints became the class of the NFC South. While he hasn’t found the same level of postseason success as Tom Brady, he’s still been pretty careful; The Saints quarterback amassed more than 570 touchdown passes, won a Super Bowl title and earned a spot in 13 Pro Bowls.
tom brady is a little older than draw brees
related: is tom brady the oldest starting qb in nfl history?
By professional sports standards, both Tom Brady and Draw Brees are pretty old. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, however, still has seniority between the two men.
brees was born on January 15, 1979, that is, he has just turned 42 years old. Brady was born on August 3, 1977, making him a little over a year older than his fellow quarterback. The last signal caller also entered the NFL a year earlier, giving him the advantage in years of service.
However, as the cliché goes, age is just a number. During the NFC Divisional Round, both Tom Brady and Draw Brees will prove that to be true.
stats courtesy of pro-football-reference