The 40 Year Old Club

On August 3rd, 2017 Tom Brady joins only 64 other NFL players that played into their 40s.  Out of the thousands of players that have cycled through the league, even the thousands of players that play into their 30s, he becomes only the 65th to join the 40 year old club.  The scary part, is that the guy is still as lively and as talented as when he was 24, and he still works just as hard to continue to be the best.

Of those 65 players, he becomes the 20th QB to play into his 40s.  Even at that, two of those 20 never actually played in a game into their 40s.  The majority of players that continue successfully into their 40s are kickers and punters, and that’s mostly because of the lack of a beating those players take at those positions.  With the beating that Brady takes week to week, it makes it even more incredible that he has continued to be so successful through this point in his career.

Some of the more modern QBs that lasted through this age include, Vinny Testaverde, Doug Flutie, Matt Hasselbeck, Warren Moon, Mark Brunell, and Brett Favre.  The majority of those guys played sparingly after they turned 40, and served as backups and “player-coaches” to a younger starting QB.  Brett Favre was the only one that continued to play at this age, and you could see the hits start to pile up and affect his ability in Minnesota.  Brady is at the top of his game, and hasn’t looked affected by anything.

The oldest player to ever play was George Blanda, who played until he was 48.  I bet if you asked Brady, he knows he could continue to play until that age and maybe beyond it.  If you asked Gisele, you might get a different answer.  However, at his ripe age of 40, he looks primed to make a run at his sixth ring.  Look out world, this man is still not satisfied, and might continue to play this way for 3 more, 5 more, or maybe even 8 more years.

Written By: Jake Kobierski (@TheRealKobe83)