When your job is so difficult that only one in several million people can handle it, a certain sympathetic understanding exists between members of that elite club. It’s why Bill Clinton and George W. Bush get along just fine—even when their respective parties are at one another’s throats. And it’s why Tom Brady and Peyton Manning can represent both the greatest football rivalry of the new millennium as well as one of the best examples of mutual respect and admiration among pro athletes. Each of them will be remembered as the greatest quarterback of this era by millions—and both sides of that debate will have an extremely valid case. But is there any way to objectively determine the winner?
Statistics:
Yes, Brady has the single-season passing TD record (50). And yes, it was Manning’s record of 49 that he broke. But no quarterback has been as consistently statistically dominant as Manning has been over his 15-year career. He currently sits second and third respectively in career passing TDs and yards (Brett Favre has those records right now), but if he plays two and a half more quality seasons, he’ll own both titles. By then, he should also have tallied the most game-winning drives (he’s two back of Dan Marino’s 51 entering 2013) to go along with his record of 36 fourth-quarter comebacks.
EDGE: MANNING
Regular Season:
Manning certainly challenges here, with an amazing 154-70 career record, but can’t touch Brady’s all-time mark of 136-39. Of NFL quarterbacks with at least 90 wins, only Joe Montana is in the same class—but even his .713 career winning percentage is well back of Brady’s .777.
EDGE: BRADY
Playoffs:
Manning’s 9-11 over his career in the playoffs, with one Super Bowl ring and a playoff passer rating of 88.4. Brady, however, is an unreal 17-7 in the post-season, including three titles and a passer rating of 87.4—though it’s worth noting that after a 9-0 start, he’s 8-7 with two Super Bowl losses since his 2004 win.
EDGE: BRADY
Marketability:
Reports put Brady’s endorsement income at about $10 million annually, while Manning typically earns about $13 million per year. Also, as anyone who’s seen his MasterCard commercials or Saturday Night Live skits can attest, Manning is actually funny—Brady moves a lot of products, but doesn’t do it with the same aplomb.
EDGE: MANNING
Respect:
Brady is a talented passer… who happens to play for the greatest coaching genius of the modern era, who has reinvented a stale Patriots offence three times during Brady’s tenure. Manning, meanwhile, is essentially his own offensive coordinator. Manning was voted the second-best player in the league in the annual NFL players poll in June (Adrian Peterson took top spot). Brady came in at No. 4. In 2010, the NFL Network convened a panel of former players, executives and coaches to determine the 100 best players of all time. Manning landed in eighth. Brady? 21st.
EDGE: MANNING
Origin Stories:
Manning was the No. 1 pick and has been a starter since day one, but it took him almost a decade to get his championship. Brady, meanwhile was drafted 199th overall and only rose to prominence thanks to an injury to Drew Bledsoe—at which point he led his team to the Super Bowl.
EDGE: BRADY
Character:
Brady was born to be a football villain, at least by the optics. He cares too much about his hair, swapped his girlfriend for a supermodel, built himself a castle in California and became the smirking spokesperson for Uggs. Manning’s narrative drips with aw-shucks Americana—he married his college sweetheart, they have twins together and have donated an undisclosed amount of money to what is now the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent in Indianapolis, the city Manning single-handedly turned into a football town, with the gleaming Lucas Oil Stadium known as “The House Peyton Built.”
EDGE: MANNING