Former All-Pro cornerback shares controversial Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady take

Former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel earned a pair of Super Bowl rings playing alongside quarterback Tom Brady with the New England Patriots and explained on the latest edition of the "Say What Needs to Be Said" podcast why he doubts that Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs will ever replace Brady atop of NFL GOAT power rankings. 

"My opinion is it is damn near impossible for Patrick Mahomes to dethrone Tom Brady as the number one G.O.A.T.," Samuel said, as shared by James Brizuela of Fan Nation's Bleav website. "It is damn near impossible for Patrick Mahomes to dethrone Tom Brady's number one G.O.A.T. status. Right? If you look at the body of work, not the accolades, because we all know accolades come from popularity and perception and perception driven."

Brady retired seemingly for good in February 2023 as a seven-time Super Bowl champion and the only individual to ever earn Super Bowl Most Valuable Player honors on five occasions. 

Mahomes, meanwhile, became a three-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Super Bowl MVP via the 25-22 overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11. 

Perhaps most importantly as it pertains to Mahomes chasing Brady, Kansas City's QB1 turns 29 years old this September and may just now be entering his prime as an all-around player. 

While continuing his point, Samuel mentioned how Brady guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a win over Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV back in February 2021. 

"How are you going to beat that? Eight Super Bowl victories aren't enough for Patrick Mahomes to say he dethroned Tom Brady," Samuel added. "I say he needs at least 10 to dethrone Tom Brady."

Interestingly, Mahomes acknowledged shortly after the Super Bowl LVIII win over the Niners that "it’s always going to be tough" for him to match or surpass Brady in GOAT conversations because Mahomes lost to TB12 on the sport's biggest stage. 

Mahomes later admitted that his goal "is always seven [rings]," but it appears at least some within the NFL community think the 2017 first-round draft pick will need jewelry for every finger and both thumbs to ever replace Brady as the GOAT player.