ESPN analyst Ryan Clark used The Pivot podcast, sitting alongside co-hosts and former NFL players Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, to respond to Tom Brady’s recent public declaration that Aaron Rodgers is the greatest passer of the football in NFL history, stating Brady did nothing more than confirm what he believed and has argued publicly for 15 years.
Brady made the comments on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast in a conversation with former soccer players Gary Neville, Roy Keane, and Ian Wright.
May 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) participates in OTA drills at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
“I think there’s no greater passer of the football than Aaron Rodgers,” Brady said. “You see everyone do it, and then you see one person throw the ball that much better. It’s hard to put into words how incredible he passes the ball. The ball, the way it comes out of his hand. The way that it spins and delivers with the pace and with the accuracy. It’s like a bullet.” In a separate conversation with Cris Collinsworth, Brady extended the claim further: “Aaron in his prime, to me, is the greatest passer of the football the league’s ever seen. He could get the ball from point A to B faster and more accurate, I think, than any player in the history of the NFL.”
Brady spoke on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast
“Thank you, Tom Brady. I’ve been saying this since 2010, 2011,” Clark said. “That Aaron Rodgers is the best thrower of the football that’s ever lived.”
Apr 1, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Tom Brady attends the game between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Thank you, Tom Brady. 🫱🏼🫲🏾
I’ve been saying it for years: Aaron Rodgers is the greatest thrower of the football this game has ever seen.
When I said @AaronRodgers12 was the most gifted QB of his generation, folks argued. Now the 🐐 says the same thing.
I’m just an old free… pic.twitter.com/nwYW6kqiXY
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) July 20, 2026
He placed Rodgers at the top of the arm talent conversation with full awareness of the others in it.
“I think you have to add Dan Marino and a guy like John Elway and certain things they could do from an arm talent standpoint into the conversation. But there is only one Aaron Rodgers.” Clark explained what makes Rodgers technically distinct from everyone else. “Aaron Rodgers has a theme where you can be right and still be wrong because of where he could place it, how he could place it, how fast it could get there, and how it could be exactly where he wants it to be when he wants it to be there.”
He also addressed the portion of the discourse that conflates Rodgers’ off-field positions with his on-field ability.
“You can feel however you want to feel about him and his conspiracy theories or whatever you want to say. What ain’t a conspiracy is how this man throws the ball. The best that’s ever lived at it. There is not another one.”
On Patrick Mahomes, Clark acknowledged that Mahomes produced early-career comparisons that made the Rodgers conversation feel less settled than it once had. He concluded that the conversation had always had only one answer when it came to pure throwing ability.
“When I had the generational talent conversation, Aaron Rodgers was sitting at the top of it because that’s where he belongs.”
Rodgers is entering his age-43 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers under new head coach Mike McCarthy, who called plays in Green Bay and Dallas over a long career. Brady predicted Rodgers would be “reinvigorated” in Pittsburgh and could “go out on the highest of possible notes.”
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