Ranking Tom Brady Among the Greatest Winners in Sports

On February 5, 2012, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady looks to capture his fourth Super Bowl ring.

He's obviously a winner. But where does he rank among the all-time greatest winners in sports? Win or lose on Sunday, he's in the discussion. It's just a matter of where.

First, there's a difference between great players and winners. Dan Marino is a great player. He owned the record for most yards thrown in one season until 2011. He netted 147 wins. Unfortunately, Marino won a grand total of zero championships.

To be a true winner for this list, championships are a must.

Next, the athletes on this list all maintain a simple commonality. Each are the type of person you see and immediately think, "S/He's a winner." It's incredibly difficult to bet against them.

Last, Bleacher Report's August 16, 2011 edition of the 25 Greatest Winners in Sports included many coaches. This list is reserved solely for athletes.

The following ranking includes Tom Brady's current stats, pre-Super Bowl XLVI.

23. Tom Brady

Surprise! Here he is. The cat is out of the bag. He's No. 23 on the list of all-time greatest winners in sports.

Brady has played in five Super Bowls and won three of them. He's been crowned Super Bowl MVP twice. He's been selected to the Pro Bowl seven times. Brady's postseason record is 16-5.

Tom Brady owns the longest win streak in NFL history at 21 games. Brady also led the Patriots to an undefeated 17-0 season and added two more wins in the playoffs that year. In a 10-year career, his records stands at 124-35.

That's about 12.5 wins per season and only 3.5 losses.

Not to mention the 40-something records he owns, including most touchdown passes in a season.

If that's only good enough for the 23rd best, who are the other guys?

22. Terry Bradshaw

"The Steel Curtain" as the Pittsburgh Steelers were known in the '70s, won four Super Bowls, stamping their ticket as a dynasty.

Though the nickname stems from the defense, Terry Bradshaw captained the team masterfully. During his 14-year career, Bradshaw won four rings in six years. He was named Super Bowl MVP twice on a team known for defense.

Terry Bradshaw was the first quarterback to win three Super Bowls. He was the first to win four as well.

21. Joe Greene

"Mean" Joe Greene was to the Steel Curtain what Ray Lewis is to the Baltimore Ravens today. The Greene-led defense took pressure off quarterback Terry Bradshaw, continually stuffing opposing offenses.

Arguably the best defensive lineman of all time, he has four Super Bowl rings. Greene is a 10-time Pro Bowler as well.

Not only did Joe Greene win, he usually hurt people in the process.

20. Jimmy Connors

Tennis superstar Jimmy Connors won eight Grand Slam titles. He added two doubles Grand Slam titles. Connors is one of six men to win three Grand Slam events in one year. He is the only tennis player to win a Grand Slam on clay, grass and a hard court.

Add in another 19 Championship Series titles and 1,241 total match wins. But he's not done yet.

Jimmy Connors spent nine different stints as the No. 1 ranked player in the world for a total of 268 weeks. His time includes 160 consecutive weeks.

19. Richard Petty

His nickname is "The King" for a reason.

Richard Petty helped put NASCAR on the public's radar. His contributions include 200 wins and seven championships. Petty finished in the top 10 712 times.

One more time, that's 712 top-10 finishes.

18. Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali owns a 56-5 record. He also won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in the light heavyweight division.

In the Golden Era of boxing, not only did Ali win, he won in electrifying ways against formidable opponents. He twice beat Sonny Liston, the first for the heavyweight title. He beat Joe Frazier two out of three times. He split with Leon Spinks.

Muhammad Ali headlined two of boxing's biggest events in history: The Rumble in the Jungle and the Thrilla in Manila. He won both, defeating George Foreman and Joe Frazier, respectively.

His record also includes a 32-fight win streak. Of his five losses, four were decisions. He held the Heavyweight title three times and defended the belt 29 times.

Would you really bet against Ali?

17. Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson obtained 40 wins before losing his first fight. He didn't lose again for 87 matches after that.

Robinson ultimately amassed a record of 173-19-6. This doesn't include an 85-0 record as an amateur.

He spent five years as the World Welterweight champion before moving up a weight class. He later went on to win the World Middleweight title five separate times.

16. Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter may be the poster child of the "The Guy's a Winner" campaign.

The Yankee captain is a five-time champion, 12-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glover, four-time Silver Slugger and an All-Star Game MVP.

He's also the all-time Yankees hits leader and possibly the biggest fan favorite in baseball.

Personally, Jeter's list of girlfriends include Minka Kelly, Jessica Biel, Vanessa Minnillo and Jordana Brewster.

Winning.

15. Joe Montana

Joe Montana captained four Super Bowl teams. He won all four games. He was even named Super Bowl MVP three times, the only player to accomplish the feat.

An eight-time Pro Bowler, Montana won MVP honors twice as well.

With 117 wins, Joe Montana orchestrated 28 late, game-winning drives including "The Catch."

14. Lance Armstrong

Winning your respective sport's championship seven times is an impressive feat.

The Tour de France is a grueling three-week, 2,200-mile cycling race. There's an incredible amount of stamina required. Ask anyone who's ridden a stationary bike at the gym for 30 minutes.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times. Even better, he did it seven times consecutively.

After retiring in 2005, he returned four years later and still took third place.

If he came back tomorrow, it'd be tough to bet against him.

13. Mickey Mantle

Take Derek Jeter's stats and inflate them. What do you get? Mickey Mantle.

Mantle is a seven-time champion and 20-time All-Star. He is also a three-time MVP.

Mickey Mantle captured the Triple Crown achievement in 1956.

A true winner, Mantle played in the World Series 12 times in an 18-year career. He is the current owner of a half-dozen World Series records including most home runs and most RBI.

12. Joe DiMaggio

Now take Mickey Mantle's stats and inflate them. What do you get? Joe DiMaggio.

DiMaggio earned three MVP Awards and won nine World Series rings. DiMaggio went to the All-Star game each year of his 13-year career, too.

While he had no Triple Crown honors, he is (still) the proud owner of the Major League record 56-game hit streak.

Spending time as Marilyn Monroe's husband only helps his winning case.

11. Wayne Gretzky

The greatest hockey player of all time, Wayne Gretzky. If this was a list of individual accolades, Gretzky would top it.

He's only a four-time champion and nine-time All-Star. However, he is the all-time leading scorer in the NHL and the only person to ever score 200 points in a season. No one else has ever accomplished this feat.

Gretzky did it four times.

Yeah, he's definitely a winner. We'll forgive him for not winning more than four championships.

10. Tiger Woods

The fact that Tiger Woods is the highest-paid athlete in the world qualifies him for the biggest winners in sports list. But like most athletes, it's not about the money (right?).

Woods has won 14 majors, second to Jack Nicklaus. He's third all time on the list of PGA Tour wins at 71. He was Rookie of the Year (1) and Player of the Year (10).

Woods has won a career Grand Slam three times, second again to Nicklaus. He is the youngest ever to do so.

Woods has spent more time ranked as No. 1 in golf than anyone else, both in totals and consecutive weeks.

9. Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus was Player of the Year half as many times as Tiger Woods. He never made close to the amount of money Woods makes.

But he's got him where it counts—a record 18 career major championships. Not to mention placing second an additional 19 times.

The "Golden Bear" has 115 total wins and 73 PGA Tour wins.

8. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

But it's not just about individual efforts, as I stated.

Abdul-Jabbar is a six-time champion, twice named Finals MVP and 19-time All-Star. He was also named league MVP six times. No big deal.

Throw in three consecutive NCAA titles for kicks, and we've got ourselves a fine winner.

7. Roger Federer

Roger Federer's 81 percent win total means one thing: He wins a lot.

In fact, he's won 814 times. But what about titles?

Sure, he's got those. They come in the variety of 70 career titles, a record 16 Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal.

How much of a winner is he? He spent 237 days ranked No. 1. That's a record.

In addition to the 16 Grand Slam titles won, he visited the Finals another seven times. His list of achievements continues, including being one of only seven to win the career Grand Slam and spending nine years ranked No. 3 or higher.

6. Michael Jordan

Winning the NBA Finals six times is impressive. Michael Jordan obtained his six rings by leading the Chicago Bulls to two separate three-peats. He was the Finals MVP all six times, too.

Jordan was the league's MVP five times. He was also a 14-time All-Star, three-time All-Star Game MVP, Rookie of the Year, and he won the dunk contest twice.

His leadership skills are invaluable. In addition to six titles, he led the Bulls to a 72-win season. He also helped North Carolina win the NCAA title before turning pro.

5. Michael Phelps

Basketball players, baseball players and football players all have teammates.

Michael Phelps did it by himself.

American athletes compete against the best in their league. Michael Phelps competes against the best in the world.

And he wins.

Eight times in one Olympic Games.

He's won 16 Olympic medals, 14 of which are gold medals. He also holds 39 world records, including most gold medals in one Olympic Games. Not the most in swimming, the most in any event.

4. Yogi Berra

Arguably the best catcher in baseball history, he's certainly one of the most decorated.

Yogi Berra is a 13-time World Series champion. But because I said there would be no coaches on this list, he loses three rings. Overall, he's appeared in 21 World Series.

Eighteen All-Star selections is just icing on the cake at this point.

3. Martina Navratilova

This women's tennis superstar won 167 titles, the most of any man or woman. Similarly, Martina Navratilova holds the record for most doubles titles with 177.

Her 1,442 career wins include 18 Grand Slams and 31 doubles Grand Slams. Navratilova won an additional 10 mixed Grand Slams too.

She's won at Wimbledon 20 times, tied for first with Billie Jean King.

Total domination in a sport.

2. Henri Richard

Henri Richard is the proud owner of the most championships held in the NHL with 11.

In fact, his 11 wins ties him with only one other athlete for most championships in any sport, ever.

1. Bill Russell

Bill Russell won an NBA-record (and sports-record) 11 championships. Why does he win the edge over Henri Richard?

Russell is a five-time MVP. He's a 12-time All-Star.

He also owns two NCAA title wins. That would boost him to 13, for sole possession.

Oh, and he also has an Olympic gold medal, too.

Back to Tom Brady

Tom Brady is already No. 23 on the all-time greatest winners list. If he wins Super Bowl XLVI and collects his fourth Super Bowl ring, he will certainly move up.

A win alone can bump him up seven spots to No. 16. One spot behind Joe Montana.

But if he wins the Super Bowl and is named Super Bowl MVP, the intense discussion of Brady moving past Montana can officially begin.