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Tom Brady is no stranger to being the subject of hot takes from the national media. One of the most consistent critics of his career has been ESPN sports analyst and show host Max Kellerman.
Kellerman began talking negatively about Brady in 2016 when he was on the sports show "First Take" on ESPN alongside Stephen A. Smith.
Since 2016 when Brady was 39 years old, Kellerman spoke routinely about why Brady's play would fall off a cliff sooner rather than later. Over the years, he kept going at Brady despite Brady continuously outplaying the rest of the league.
Analysts like Kellerman create hot takes that stick with them. His hot take was predicting Brady's downfall, to no avail.
Max Kellerman's takes on Tom Brady throughout the years
Kellerman's first prediction of Tom Brady's downfall came before the 2016 season began. Kellerman said Brady was approaching an age when quarterbacks are beginning to decline.
He cited Peyton Manning and Brett Favre as examples. His quote that started his "cliff" take that ran for years was,
“Tom Brady’s just about done. It could be his next game he plays, it could be a year from now, but he is going to fall off a cliff."
When Brady had a stretch in 2016 when he wasn't the greatest quarterback in the league, Kellerman furthered his agenda.
Despite the New England Patriots winning the Super Bowl that year, Kellerman was firm in his stance. In 2017, the Patriots lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, giving Brady motivation to be better.
In 2018, he said he'd admit he was wrong if Brady won the Super Bowl again. The Patriots won the Super Bowl that season.
Brady was still an elite quarterback, but Kellerman continued to crow that his play was due for a decline. He chalked up Brady's sustained success to being under Bill Belichick and new rules protecting the quarterback.
In 2019, the Patriots were eliminated from the playoffs, and at age 42, nobody knew what was next for Brady. Kellerman said he should retire and not try to play elsewhere.
Brady played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that season and won the Super Bowl. That was when Kellerman finally ended the longstanding take that he realized he wouldn't get right.
Now at age 44, Tom Brady has the chance to win his eighth Super Bowl and silence any doubters he may have.
