NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady have a history seeped in controversy thanks to the DeflateGate scandal.
Nevertheless, Goodell can't help but admire the greatness of the former New England Patriots passer, offering his latest praise of him earlier this week on Great Dane Nation, a podcast featuring Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen.
"Tom Brady, to me, he's remarkable," Goodell told Andersen, who kicked in the NFL from 1982-2007. "I think the great athletes in the world -- and probably the great business executives -- are the people that can make everyone else around them rise up."
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Andersen, who retired as the leading scorer in league history with 2,544 points at age 47 -- a figure since topped by former Patriots and Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri -- is one of the few players who's ever gone beyond Brady's long-stated goal of playing until he's 45.
Goodell seems to hope Brady approaches Andersen's age as an active player, if not surpasses it.
"I hope he plays for several more years," Goodell says. "Our fans want to see it, we want to see it. As they say, he's the GOAT."
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It's not the first time this year Goodell has mentioned Brady in this light. Prior to Super Bowl LVI, Goodell said that Brady was "probably the greatest player to ever play the game."
"I think Tom Brady basically put the Buccaneers on his shoulders and got everybody else to play at a higher level," Goodell told Andersen. "He has incredible competitiveness and focus; he got everybody else to see how to do that. To be able to do that is remarkable at any age."