Who Is the NFL's Michael Jordan?

Unless you lived in a cave for the last 25 years, or were totally turned off by basketball in that time period, you know who I'm talking about.

Back in the 1980s, basketball had a nice match-up, with the Celtics, Lakers, and Pistons controlling things for the most part. And no, I didn't forget the 76ers (I have a nice World Champs postcard).

That all changed with Michael Jordan. For a few years he was stopped by creative defense, like the Pistons, or other outlandish ideas. (Rumor has it that the Knicks wanted to lock him in his hotel room.) But in an eight-year period, MJ proceeded to win six titles. The two years he didn't win, surprisingly, he was trying to play baseball.

To this day a lot of basketball's elite still consider Michael the greatest modern player of his time.

So, for the sake of argument, does the NFL have an equivalent player?

Some names come to mind. In most recent days, Tom Brady might make a case as he's won several Super Bowls.

For Super Bowl wins, you could go back to Joe Montana. He took home four rings, and even was swapped to another team, similar to Jordan's exodus to the Wizards. (I still think that was a bad idea.)

Others might try to toss out names like Troy Aikman, which is fair enough. He won once the team was assembled, and MJ didn't win his first ring until Pippen was added to the mix (or Rodman).

I think the biggest difference in trying to find an MJ in the NFL is that players in the NFL don't stick around a long time with one club. Before free agency took hold in the early '90s, NFL players usually stuck around, until traded.

Guys like Lawrence Taylor, Howie Long, and John Elway stayed with a club. Players like Jim Plunkett, Reggie White, or Willie Brown would go until they felt they were wanted, and could give something.

I don't think we've found an equal to Michael Jordan in football presently. And in its own right, football is better for it because more teams can compete and win.