Sunday 4 February 2018 14:34, UK
Who is the greatest?
Muhammad Ali confidently proclaimed he was, and few would argue, but it's a question long debated across various different sports - from Roger Federer and Serena Williams in tennis, to Tiger Woods in golf and Usain Bolt over 100 metres.
In the NFL, there is no doubt it's Tom Brady. Or is there?
Brady is targeting an incredible sixth Super Bowl championship with the New England Patriots on Sunday. Does he need another victory to truly cement his legacy as the greatest?
We take a look at his record, and compare it with his biggest competitors...
To start, on Sunday, Brady will appear in his eighth Super Bowl - that's as many as any other team in the NFL has ever managed, let alone a single player. And, he already has five wins, more than any other quarterback.
The same can also be said of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who has been coaching Brady throughout his 18-year NFL career - one knock against Brady's claim as the greatest of all time is that he has had the good fortune to have been with the genius Belichick.
The pair have the most career playoff wins by a quarterback and head coach combo, with 27, and with a win on Sunday, that will be double the tally of the next best, Pittsburgh Steelers' Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll, who had 14 on their way to four Super Bowl triumphs.
Montana is arguably Brady's biggest competition. Not only is he one of his closest rivals in terms of Super Bowl wins, bringing home four for the San Francisco 49ers, but it's also because of their somewhat similar style in running the west coast offense, both operating with the same ruthless efficiency under centre.
The comparisons don't stop there. Like sixth-round draft pick Brady, Montana was largely unfancied coming out of college, and was only drafted in the third round. He was also joined at the hip with a gifted genius of a head coach, Bill Walsh, with whom he'd win three of his Super Bowls.
Also, Montana was renowned for his calmness under pressure, leading his teams to 32 fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories. Brady too is ice cold in the clutch moments, as last year's stunning 25-point comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons proved. Trailing with two minutes left on the clock and one drive to win the game, if it's not Brady you want calling the shots, it's Montana.
The Steelers were the NFL's first 'dynasty'. There wasn't such a thing before their success in the 1970s, winning all four of their Super Bowl appearances between 1975 and 1980 - quarterback Bradshaw led the team in all of them.
In contrast to Brady and Montana, Bradshaw was one of the league's first true gunslingers at QB, known for his incredible arm strength. However, what counts against his claim as the greatest somewhat, is the era of football in which he played - teams would run the football far more and, as a result, Bradshaw passed for more than 300 yards in a game only seven times during his career. Also, he only had two more touchdowns (212) than interceptions (210).
But, Bradshaw was a man for the big occasion! Three of those 300-yard passing games came in the playoffs, and two in Super Bowls.
Elway was another big-armed bruiser at QB but, unlike Bradshaw, he had the reputation as somewhat of a choker, in the Super Bowl at least, losing his first three with the Denver Broncos.
But, similar to Brady, Elway had longevity, playing into his late 30s, where he'd eventually bow out of the game after back-to-back Super Bowl successes.
Since then, he has gone on to become the executive vice president of football operations and general manager in Denver, and was responsible for bringing in the next man on our list, who helped the team earn their third Vince Lombardi trophy with a win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 two years ago.
Of Brady's era, it was often argued as to which of the pair was the better quarterback, with many Manning supporters pointing to his superior passing stats, as well as five league MVP awards to Brady's current haul of only two.
Manning set the single-season touchdown passes record with 49 in 2004, Brady threw 50 in 2007, before Manning again beat that mark with 55 in 2013. Manning is also the NFL's all-time leader in yards (71,940) and touchdowns (539).
However, where he fell down was in the key category of Super Bowl wins and, even more specifically, his head-to-head record against Brady. Manning was just 6-11 versus Brady, losing his first six games to the Patriots passer - that included two playoff defeats, which is part of the reason Manning has only two rings to his name. Admittedly, Manning was triumphant in all of the pair's next three postseason duels, leading his two championship triumphs.
Dallas Cowboys fans will quite rightly point to their two multiple-Super-Bowl-winning quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, who shared their five titles between them - Aikman's 1990s haul of three slightly giving him the edge.
There's also the Green Bay Packers' fine array of signal callers over the years: Bart Starr brought home the first ever two Super Bowls, while Brett Favre - like Manning - had the stats to match Brady's (as well as the longevity, also playing into his 40s) but not the Super Bowl wins. He had just the one, in 1997 against a Brady-less New England, while Aaron Rodgers - considered by many to be Brady's biggest contender as the G.O.A.T - will also be in the discussion should he turn his one title into multiple successes.
You may have noticed we've limited our search exclusively to QBs, and while positional players - the likes of Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Jerry Rice and countless others - have impressive resumes, the quarterback is king in the NFL. Another win for Brady on Sunday and there will be no doubt as to who is king of them all.
For 90 minutes of Super Bowl LII build-up from US Bank Stadium with Josh Norman, join us on Sky Sports Action and Mix from 10pm on Sunday.
Sky Sports Main Event joins us at 11pm and the action kicks off at 11.30pm (GMT), including the half-time show featuring Justin Timberlake.
