In spite of the fact that American football has become more and more popular to watch in the United Kingdom, there is still a lack of knowledge around some of the players for those quite new to the sport. Yes, some of the names will be recognisable on account of their presence in the media landscape for one reason or another, but their actual accomplishments might have flown under the radar a wee bit more for some people. Here, we’re going to take a closer look at some of the biggest-ever names in the world of American football and explore why they’re so well known.
It goes without saying that this list is far from exhaustive and names that you think should be on it may well not be, but it will give you a flavour of some of the sport’s biggest players.
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. was born on the third of August 1977 and played for the Michigan Wolverines when he was at college. When he was part of the draft in 2000, the New England Patriots chose him as the 199th pick overall in the sixth round, which would later earn him the title of being the biggest ever steal in the NFL draft. That is on account of the fact that he went on to be considered the greatest quarterback that the sport had ever seen. In spite of this, it took him until his second season with the Patriots to become their starting quarterback, but he never looked back from there.
He proved his worth immediately, taking the Pats to their first Super Bowl win at Super Bowl XXXVI, where he was named the MVP. In total, he spent 18 seasons as the first-choice quarterback for the Patriots and they won their division title 17 times, of which 11 of them were consecutive wins. They made the Super Bowl nine times and won six of them. In 2020, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, taking them to the Super Bowl, which they won 31-9 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He set countless records during his career, including the most career wins for a quarterback with 251.
Jim Brown
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Between 1957 and 1965, James Nathaniel Brown played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns, which was the only team that he played for during his career. That, though, doesn’t even begin to tell the full story about the man, who was born on the 17th of February 1936. That is on account of the fact that he was so much more than just a player in the NFL, also being both a civil rights activist and an actor. It is his work in the National Football League that we’re most interested in here, though, and on that front he is considered to be one of the best running backs ever.
If you want to get a sense of just how good Jim Brown was and how respected he was in the sport, you need only look at the fact that he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team in every single season he played in the NFL, earning the title of Most Valuable Player on three occasions. He played in the days before the Super Bowl, but he won the NFL Championship as a Browns player in 1964. He continued to set records even after he retired, featuring in the first interracial love scene alongside Raquel Welch in the film 100 Rifles, which many consider made him the first Black action hero in Hollywood.
Peyton Manning
Born on the 24th of March 1976, Peyton Williams Manning was nicknamed ‘the Sheriff’ during his time on the field. He played as a quarterback for 18 seasons in the NFL, with 14 of them coming with the Indianapolis Colts and four of them being with the Denver Broncos. If not for the presence of Tom Brady, Manning might well have earned the title of greatest quarterback of all time. Given the fact that his dad was the quarterback Archie Manning, his brother was Eli Manning and his uncle Arch Manning played for the Texas Longhorns, it certainly says something that he was the most successful of them all.
The Colts showed faith in him from the get-go when he was the first overall draft pick in 1998, immediately becoming their starting quarterback and helping them transform from a struggling franchise into one that was consistently a playoff contender. With him in the team, the Colts won eight division titles and three AFC Championship Games, as well as one Super Bowl, during which mate he was named MVP. When he won the Super Bowl again with the Denver Broncos, he became the first starting quarterback to win it with more than one franchise, which Brady later repeated.
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine Marino Jr., born on the 15th of September 1981, is another of those players who is thought of as being one of the best quarterbacks ever seen in the NFL. When you consider the fact that he never won a Super Bowl, that tells you just how good he was as a player. He was known as being a player with a powerful arm and a quick release, which combined to allow him to make brilliant passes and get his team on the front foot. Having played for the Pittsburgh Panthers at college, Marino then signed with the Miami Dolphins and remained there for 17 seasons.
Marino was largely responsible for making the Dolphins consistent contenders in the post-season, taking them to the playoffs on ten occasions and also making it to Super Bowl XIX. Unfortunately for Marino and his team, they came up against Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers, who won 38-16 and claimed their second Super Bowl title. Both quarterbacks threw over 300 yards, which was the first time that had happened in the Super Bowl. When he retired in 2000, he was immediately enshrined in the Miami Dolphins Honour Roll, being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years later.
Jerry Rice
Of all of the players on the list, there is an argument that Jerry Lee Rice is the most deserving of them all for his place here. Born in Mississippi on the 13th of October 1962, he became a wide receiver and joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1985. It was with the 49ers that he won his first Super Bowl, being named MVP at Super Bowl XXIII when they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16. A year later and he missed out on the MVP title to Joe Montana, but the 49ers crushed the Denver Broncos 55-10, with Rice scoring the opening touchdown after a 30-yard pass from Montana.
Five years later and he won his third and final Super Bowl, this time thanks to a 49ers win over the San Diego Chargers by a score of 49-26. It was another example of the first touchdown coming courtesy of Rice, this time getting on the end of a 44-yard pass from Steve Young, who was stepping out of Montana’s shadow as the first-choice quarterback for the team. After leaving the 49ers in 2000, he played for the Oakland Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks, as well as becoming a squad player for the Denver Broncos in 2005. The career leader of the majority of statistics for a wide receiver, his eighth Super Bowl touchdown came when he was a 40-year-old.