Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, better known as Tom, TB12, Tom Terrific or just the GOAT â the Greatest Of All Time â holds most every significant record that can be held by an NFL quarterback. In his 23 year-career â 21 full seasons as a starting quarterback â that ended in 2023 when he was 45 years old, Brady threw for the most yards (89,214), and the most touchdowns (649).
He started the most games (333), won the most games (251), completed the most passes (7,753) and led the most game-winning drives (58). He also won the most playoff games (35). But the one record that he will be most known for is ultimately the only one that matters â championships. Brady played in 10 Super Bowls and won seven NFL championships.
That is two more than the second-place quarterback, Bart Starr of the Green Bay Packers, who won five â three of them in the pre-Super Bowl era which began in 1966. No one else has won more than four, a total achieved by five different quarterbacks: Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Earl Moral, Johnny Unitas and Sid Luckman who quarterbacked the Chicago Bears to NFL titles in 1940, 1941, 1943 and 1946.
Among active quarterbacks, only Patrick Mahomes stands even an outside chance of breaking Brady’s record. But the 29-year-old Mahomes still needs to win four more NFL titles just to tie Tom Terrific.
Brady No Longer Sole Holder of Most Coveted NFL Record
But it is Tom Brady who stands alone as the champion of championship quarterbacks, with a record that stands alone. Or does it?
On Tuesday, the NFL made a stunning announcement that, with a single vote by NFL owners taken at the annual owners meeting, deprived Brady of sole possession of that championship record. And in the same vote, the NFL owners also deprived Brady’s coach for the first 20 years of his career, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick of his title-winning record, too.
Belichick held the record for most NFL championships won by a head coach with six. But thanks to the NFL owners’ announcement, Belichick has dropped to second place.
So, what happened? How did Brady and Belichick lose their records?
Otto Graham Equals Brady as Championship GOAT
Very simply, the NFL owners voted to merge the statistics compiled by players and teams in the All-American Football Conference with the NFL’s official stats. The AAFC existed from 1946 to 1949, created as competition for the NFL which had been around since 1922.
When the AAFC merged with the NFL, only two of the young league’s franchises were left standing â the Cleveland Browns â the AAFC’s dominant team â and San Francisco 49ers. And all AAFC statistics were disregarded. Until now.
By incorporating AAFC stats into the NFL, Brady has now been given company at the seven-championship pinnacle of the league. Otto Graham quarterbacked the Browns for all four AAFC seasons â and won all four championships. When the leagues merged in 1950, Graham and the Browns won three more titles before the former Northwestern tailback retired after the 1955 season. That gives Graham, after the owners vote this week, an official total of seven championships.
Paul Brown, the legendary coach of the team that bore his name, was in charge for all seven of those titles, which means that he now holds the record for most championships by a head coach. Belichick won six as Brady’s coach with the Patriots, and is now runner-up on the all-time official NFL List.
Belichick still holds the record for most wins in Super Bowls, but two other coaches have won six NFL championships.
George Halas, coach of the Chicago Bears for an incredible 40 years between 1920 and 1967 (missing nine seasons), winning championships in 1921, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1946, and 1963.
Another coaching legend, Earl “Curly” Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers â whose stadium bears his name â coached the team from 1921 (when the league was known as the American Pro Football Association) to 1949, wining the NFL championship in 1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939 and 1944.
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