Roger Goodell's description of Tom Brady on Tuesday as merely "one of the greatest to ever play in the NFL" felt a little generous to the competition.
In the period of claim and counter-claim between reports of his retirement on Saturday and confirmation on Tuesday, the verdict had been cast – not that it was ever in doubt.
Among others, Patrick Mahomes, better placed than most to consider quality quarterback play, told ESPN: "His career is one of a kind. That's why he's the GOAT."
There is no dispute, no debate: Brady is the greatest.
The 44-year-old leads the way by most metrics, including the most important one, with an unprecedented seven Super Bowl championships.
Yet the stunning nature of some of those successes mean the emotional argument in Brady's favour is as convincing as the statistical one.
Unmoved by his NFL-record 84,520 passing yards? Try the Super Bowl LI comeback against the Atlanta Falcons.
This career had it all, and most dissenting voices had long since disappeared by the time Brady arrived in Tampa in 2020 "as the greatest football player of all time", as Bruce Arians put it. He still had another title in him.
But Brady has not just set the standard in the NFL for the past 22 years; his achievements are surely unmatched across the entire sporting world.
BEATING THE BEST
Wrestling with past legacies is never easy for an elite sports star. Even as the best of their generation, comparisons will be drawn with those who have gone before.
In the case of LeBron James in the NBA, Michael Jordan casts a long shadow.
James may now widely be considered the second-greatest player in the history of the league, but the gap to the number one spot scarcely seems to be closing, even now with titles and Finals MVP recognition on three different teams – and his own Space Jam sequel.
Elsewhere, Formula One's Lewis Hamilton has done what James could not with Jordan in matching Michael Schumacher's haul of titles.
But when Hamilton closed in on a record-breaking eighth drivers' championship in 2021, rival Sebastian Vettel scoffed: "Even if Lewis wins, to me Michael is still the greatest. Lewis can win one more, two more, three more, five more championships, but it doesn't change anything for me."
The combination of being unable to see two athletes side by side and having memories tinged with nostalgia makes life hard on the modern great.
For Brady, Joe Montana was the closest thing to a Jordan or Schumacher figure at quarterback.
Although Montana ranked sixth for all-time passing yards – Dan Marino, the 20th century's passing yards leader, never won a title – his four Super Bowls had matched Terry Bradshaw's benchmark and were still fresh enough in the memory in 2000, the last coming in the 1989 season.
Yet that was a gap Brady was swiftly able to bridge. By August 2005, with three rings already in his collection, the headline of a GQ profile asked if the Patriots passer was "the best there ever was".
At 27, 10 years younger than James and Hamilton are now, there appeared little doubt Brady would leave Marino behind.
TOP OF HIS CLASS
Perhaps Brady benefited from the standard of the competition. His career overlapped with Brett Favre at the start, Mahomes at the end and met with Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers somewhere around the middle, all of them forcing him to raise his game.
But such depth of talent can so easily muddy the waters.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have matched each other stride for stride, meaning there remains no consensus pick for football's 'GOAT'. Both merit the position, yet neither have dominated an era like Pele or Diego Maradona.
In tennis, the tussle is even more intense. Until Rafael Nadal's Australian Open triumph on Sunday, three men were tied on a record 20 grand slam titles.
Injuries to Roger Federer and coronavirus complications with Novak Djokovic may be enough to keep Nadal at the summit, but personal preference dictates the all-time rankings when the margins are so fine.
Again, however, Brady came through. None of those modern-day rivals have won three Super Bowls, let alone matching Montana's four or Brady's staggering seven.
Mahomes had appeared the most likely to challenge that mark in the years to come, but four seasons as a starter have now yielded one title. At the same point, Brady had three and that GQ headline.
"To win that many Super Bowls and win that many games, it's hard," Mahomes said after losing Sunday's AFC Championship Game. "I understand that. The years that I've had, I've been close a lot.
"I've only been there twice, and I've only won once. I understand it takes a special player ... for that to happen."
In Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Justin Herbert, Mahomes will not have it easy going forward either – an exciting new generation guarding Brady's legacy, not that he could not have done it himself had he chosen to play on.
Brady, in the regular season and playoffs, holds a 3-2 record against Mahomes, 4-0 against Allen and 1-0 against Herbert. He never faced Burrow, potentially the next Super Bowl-winning QB.
Instead, the perennial winner departs not as a champion – he has been that enough times – but as undoubtedly the best player his sport has ever seen. A rare phenomenon indeed.
Galtier: PSG working on next season's plans, including talks with Messi
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier is optimistic about the club's plans for next season, but admits there are parts of the setup that need improving "significantly".
PSG still have a seven-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 despite a 2-0 home defeat to Rennes in their last game before the international break.
Speaking ahead of Sunday's clash with Lyon at Parc des Princes, Galtier explained the work that is taking place to plan for the future, including discussions with Lionel Messi, whose deal expires at the end of the season.
The World Cup winner has been linked with a return to Barcelona as well as a potential move to MLS with David Beckham-owned Inter Miami.
"What will happen next season, we are working on it a lot, with management, with [director of football] Luis Campos," Galtier said.
"There is what we want to do but there are also the positions of each other, the club, the players. What we need to change quite significantly, what we need to improve quite significantly to be even more competitive.
"Regarding the future of Leo, there is the position of Leo, of the club, it is discussed between the two parties.
"I am focused on the 10 matches that come up to get this title. As for knowing what Leo or the club will decide, that remains very confidential."
Galtier also provided an update on Neymar, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Lille in February.
"During the break, he came in for an evaluation of his ankle post-op," Galtier explained. "We're talking with him a lot, we obviously follow his rehabilitation process.
"When there is an injury like this one, I like to give the player a bit of space, but we obviously keep in touch very regularly."
PSG have just 10 league games remaining this season, having been eliminated from both the Coupe de France and Champions League, and Galtier has used the international break to try and prepare his team as they look to seal the Ligue 1 title.
"We've had 10 days to work with a limited number of players," he said. "We've taken care of the little injuries, the players are coming back little by little. Tomorrow we will have a session focused on the game.
"Paris-Lyon is a classic fixture in this league. We need to get back to winning ways after Rennes, and get back on track in the final sprint."
Barcelona in contact with Messi as vice president talks up prospect of Camp Nou return
Barcelona are in contact with Lionel Messi and would "love" the Argentina star to make a dream return to Camp Nou, according to the club's vice president Rafael Yuste.
Messi is in the final few months of his two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain, having joined the Ligue 1 giants when a financial crisis forced him to leave Barca in 2021.
The World Cup winner has scored 18 goals and added 17 assists this season, but with PSG falling short in the Champions League, doubts have arisen concerning his future in the French capital.
While David Beckham-owned Inter Miami are keen to take Messi to MLS, Barcelona have often been linked with a move for their all-time leading goalscorer, and Yuste refused to rule out a reunion on Friday.
"Of course we are in contact with Messi," Yuste said on Friday. "Leo and his family know the affection I have for him, that we have them.
"I participated in the negotiations that did not come to fruition two years ago. I have that thorn stuck in me, and if we talk about La Masia, we talk about Leo.
"I would love for him to come back and I think the fans would too, because beautiful stories in life have to have a happy ending.
"We are in love with Messi and I think Messi is in love with Barca and the city of Barcelona."
Any potential return for Messi may be dependent on Barca's ability to cut their wage bill, with LaLiga president Javier Tebas claiming they must save €200million to meet the competition's regulations for next season.
If the required savings can be made, Yuste believes a move for Messi is possible, adding: "Mateu [Alemany] and Jordi [Cruyff] have to present the viability and income plan to Tebas in two months.
"If all the conditions are given, we would explore that possibility. The president [Joan Laporta] was with Leo's father recently and there is a good relationship.
"Of course, there is no attack plan because I do not want PSG to take it as that. If this happens, it will happen because destiny makes you go back to where you have to go back.
"If we could put all the conditions together and return Leo to Barcelona, it would be the perfect ending to a very happy story."
'Not the time' to discuss Messi return at Barcelona – Xavi
Xavi insisted it is not the time to talk about a potential reunion with Lionel Messi as Barcelona close in on the LaLiga title.
Having already secured the Supercopa de Espana, the club's first silverware since Messi's departure in 2021, Barcelona have a commanding 12-point lead in LaLiga and hold a 1-0 lead in the Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Madrid.
A potential treble remains on the cards for Xavi's side, but with Messi now in the final months of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain, the clamour to bring the Argentina World Cup winner back to Camp Nou is growing.
While Xavi is understandably keen to bring his former team-mate back to Barcelona, he is focused on upcoming matches and not potential transfer activity.
"I think this is not the time to talk about Messi's return. I talk to Leo often, I have a friendship, but this is not the time," he told reporters ahead of facing Elche.
"Neither for his sake nor for that of the club. It is a subject that is being discussed, I have a lot of contact with him.
"Hopefully, we can see him again here, I would be the first one who would be made happy. He is the best player in history, but boy, it's not the time.
"We are a month away from winning two titles, and it's time to focus.
"It doesn't depend on me, it depends much more on what Leo wants to do. He's done everything in football, he's won everything; it depends on his happiness.
"I have a great relationship with him, and if he has the decision that he wants to come back, we will listen to him and be delighted.
"We're going to listen to fate. Let's see what happens, there's nothing yet. Let's see the will he has.
"We do a disservice to Leo, the team, the club. We are one step away from achieving success in the post-Messi era that scared us so much. This is success."
Pressed further on Messi and next season, Xavi again sought to shift the focus towards the push for further silverware in this campaign.
"We haven't talked about next year with the board," he said. "We are one step away from winning titles and you talk to me about signings next year. You are specialists in changing the subject.
"On Wednesday, we can go to the Copa final. Everything is to be won.
"Sometimes I do not understand you [the media]. All year round, the talk is to win titles, and now that we are one step away, we talk about players for next season. Let's focus on Elche."
Mar 28, 2023 NBA
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