Tom Brady just turned 40, making it a fine time to reflect on what he accomplished in his 30s. And what he accomplished in the last decade would be a Hall of Fame career in and of itself.
In his 30s, Brady won two NFL MVP awards and two Super Bowl MVP awards, and was chosen to nine Pro Bowls.(The only year he missed the Pro Bowl was the year when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week One; he followed that with a Comeback Player of the Year award the following season.)
Brady’s stat line in his 30s is 3,348 completions on 5,160 attempts for 40,018 yards, a completion rate of 64.9 percent, 309 touchdown passes, 74 interceptions and a passer rating of 102.5. The Patriots went 113-28 in the regular-season games Brady started in his 30s. Brady is the only player in NFL history with 40,000 passing yards in his 30s and the only player with 300 touchdowns in his 30s, although the 38-year-old Drew Brees will join him in both categories soon.
In his 20s, Brady led the Patriots to three championships and won the Super Bowl MVP award twice, and if he had retired at age 29 he might have gone to the Hall of Fame on those credentials alone. But he was a far better player in his 30s than he was in his 20s, and the last decade of Brady’s career is easily a Hall of Fame career.
Brady insists he’s not slowing down and will play well into his 40s. That’s hard to believe, but a decade ago no one would have believed everything Brady has done in his 30s.
