Has Tom Brady officially passed Michael Jordan as the GOAT?

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Tom Brady established himself as the NFL's GOAT long ago. When he tied Joe Montana with four career Super Bowl titles after beating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 49, the debate tilted in Brady's favor.

Then, when the New England Patriots made a 25-point comeback in their 2017 Super Bowl win over the Atlanta Falcons, his GOAT status was effectively sealed.

Four years later, Brady has only further cemented himself as the greatest to ever play the game. With seven titles on his resume after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' thrashing of the Kansas City Chiefs in this year's Super Bowl, there are few questions remaining about his legacy.

Here's one of the more intriguing ones: Has Brady surpassed Michael Jordan as the cross-sport GOAT?

Tom E. Curran and Michael Holley offered their thoughts on the matter in the aftermath of Brady's seventh championship victory.

Curran: Brady's master stroke should silence doubters for good

Curran cast his ballot first and chose the 20-year member of the Patriots over the Chicago Bulls star.

"When we talk about the greatest team sport performer in any major professional sport, it would be Brady," Curran said. "But people say, 'Well, he wasn't Jordan. He wasn't LeBron.' No, he wasn't, but he just did what he needed to do and got out of the way when he had to."

Holley agreed with Curran. He acknowledged that the NFL to NBA comparison is a tricky one, but his No. 1 focus was about the longevity of Brady's elite play compared to that of Jordan.

"By the time that he got to the Washington Wizards -- good player, really good player -- but he wasn't Michael Jordan from the Bulls days," Holley said. "Tom Brady is winning an MVP at the age of 43 years old and taking a team that is historically a joke, hadn't been to the playoffs since 2007, and they win the Super Bowl after winning seven games last year. That's insane!"

It's hard to argue with any of that logic, especially considering the general lack of longevity in the NFL. The average player's career lasts 3.3 seasons, yet Brady has played 21 years at a very high level and is planning on returning for a 22nd season.

Debates about Brady's greatness will likely rage on for quite some time. But with Brady continuing to author his legacy, he will have every chance to build on his already-impressive list of accolades and titles he has racked up during his legendary career.

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