The NFL Really Does Revolve Around Tom Brady


The NFL Really Does Revolve Around Tom Brady Explore his connections to other quarterbacks through the touchdown-catching receivers they share.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady needs no introduction. Widely regarded as the greatest player in pro football history — and gunning for his record-extending eighth Super Bowl ring in this, his 22nd NFL season — Brady is the league’s all-time career leader in QB wins, passing yards and touchdown passes (among many other categories). Brady has been at the top of the game for so long that he has played with more than 200 teammates in the Super Bowl alone, to say nothing of the other players whose paths he crossed along the way. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that the NFL has revolved around Brady over the years.

We can even demonstrate this visually. To see how vast a QB’s solar system is, we traced touchdown passes from a quarterback to a receiver, looking for the pairs who have shared at least five TDs. We then followed arcs of receivers to other quarterbacks, establishing levels of links echoing from the initial QB. If Brady were a star in a solar system, connected to other QBs through the significant receivers they share, his gravitational pull would be tough to escape.

With his long career and many touchdown passes, Brady is an excellent starting point to see how expansive a quarterback’s network across the NFL can be. The visualization below displays the two closest rings — out of five total rings — of quarterbacks with paths to Brady. Some connections are tenuous, while others are sprawling. Though there are myriad paths from one quarterback to another, we are showing only the strongest connection between quarterbacks in touchdowns thrown to the shared receiver(s). For example, Brady shares multiple receivers directly with Drew Brees — with Brandin Cooks highlighted — who already has a dense set of receivers. This expands Brady’s system exponentially into the second ring.

Each white dot within a clusterrepresents a quarterback.This is Brady.Filled dots are receivers with atleast five TD passes from Brady.First-ring clusters havequarterbacks who share atleast one receiver with Brady.First-ring clusters havequarterbacks who share atleast one receiver with Brady.Each ring further out containsquarterbacks that share a receiverwith the previous ring beforeconnecting to Brady.Each ring further out containsquarterbacks that share a receiverwith the previous ring beforeconnecting to Brady.Hover over dots to explore!

Given that Brady is the only quarterback to surpass 700 total passing touchdowns, it’s no surprise that his gravity is so vast. But even other quarterbacks in the touchdown top 20 have very different networks. Take Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, with his 494 TDs in 234 total games. His long tenure with just one team gives him significantly fewer connections than a quarterback like Vinny Testaverde, who played in 240 games but with six different teams.1 Testaverde threw 281 touchdowns — more than 200 fewer than Rodgers — but his first-ring quarterback network is twice as large as that of the Packers star.

Aaron Rodgers

First-ring connection with 2.3% of quarterbacks with at least five TDs to one receiver.

Vinny Testaverde

First-ring connection with 4.6% of quarterbacks with at least five TDs to one receiver.

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Start with a quarterback (or randomize!) to see how QBs and receivers orbit each other, creating each signal-caller’s system.

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Troy AikmanFrankie AlbertJosh AllenKyle AllenKen AndersonDerek AndersonBob AvelliniTony BanksSteve BartkowskiCharlie BatchSammy BaughPete BeathardBob BerrySteve BeuerleinWild Bill KellyTodd BlackledgeJeff BlakeGeorge BlandaDrew BledsoeKyle BollerSteve BonoBlake BortlesMike BorylaSam BradfordTerry BradshawTom BradyZeke BratkowskiDrew BreesTeddy BridgewaterJacoby BrissettBubby BristerDieter BrockJohn BrodieAaron BrooksEd BrownDave BrownMark BrunellScott BrunnerRudy BukichMarc BulgerAdrian BurkJoe BurrowJason CampbellTony CanadeoCody CarlsonDavid CarrDerek CarrVirgil CarterQuincy CarterMatt CasselChris ChandlerPaul ChristmanKerry CollinsTodd CollinsIrv CompJack ConcannonCharlie ConerlyGreg CookTim CouchKirk CousinsDaunte CulpepperRandall CunninghamGary CuozzoJay CutlerAndy DaltonBoley DancewiczGary DanielsonEd DanowskiSam DarnoldCotton DavidsonLen DawsonSteve DeBergJake DelhommeTy DetmerLynn DickeyTrent DilferGlenn DobbsMarty DomresAl DorowBobby DouglassRed DunnTony EasonTrent EdwardsJohn ElwayFred EnkeCraig EricksonBoomer EsiasonSam EtcheverryVince EvansJim EverettBrett FavreJoe FergusonVince FerragamoJay FiedlerFrank FilchockJim FinksRyan FitzpatrickJoe FlaccoTom FloresDoug FlutieNick FolesGlenn FoleyJohn FourcadeDan FoutsJosh FreemanJesse FreitasGus FrerotteBenny FriedmanJohn FrieszCharlie FryeSteve FullerBlaine GabbertRoman GabrielBob GaglianoRich GannonJeff GarciaJimmy GaroppoloDavid GarrardJeff GeorgeJoe GeriHarry GilmerMike GlennonJared GoffPaul GovernaliOtto GrahamKent GrahamElvis GrbacJohnny GreenTrent GreenBob GrieseBrian GrieseRobert GriffinSteve GroganLee GrosscupRex GrossmanRalph GuglielmiPat HadenJohn HadlParker HallTerry HanrattyJim HarbaughJim HardyJoey HarringtonJames HarrisJim HartMatt HasselbeckBobby HebertTaylor HeinickeChad HenneArnie HerberJustin HerbertMark HerrmannKing HillShaun HillEric HippleGary HogeboomKelly HolcombJeff HostetlerBrian HoyerDamon HuardStan HumphriesBrett HundleyScott HunterJalen HurtsCecil IsbellTarvaris JacksonLamar JacksonJack JacobsRon JaworskiBilly Joe HobertBilly Joe TolliverCharley JohnsonBrad JohnsonRob JohnsonBert JonesDaniel JonesMac JonesSonny JurgensenColin KaepernickDanny KanellJoe KappCase KeenumJim KellyJack KempJeff KempBill KenneyBilly KilmerShaun KingJon KitnaDavid KlinglerKevin KolbJeff KomloBernie KosarTommy KramerErik KramerDave KriegDaryle LamonicaGreg LandryBobby LayneEddie LeBaronClyde LeForceJacky LeeBob LeeByron LeftwichMatt LeinartPete LiskeMike LivingstonDrew LockJake LockerNeil LomaxChuck LongJ.P. LosmanRay LucasAndrew LuckSid LuckmanJohnny LujackTommy MaddoxPatrick MahomesDon MajkowskiRay MalloufMark MaloneArchie ManningPeyton ManningEli ManningGary MarangiTed MarchibrodaDan MarinoMarcus MariotaBernie MastersonBaker MayfieldJack McBrideJohn McCormickJosh McCownPaul McDonaldLamar McHanRoy McKayJim McMahonDonovan McNabbSteve McNairCade McNownDon MeredithHugh MillenChris MillerJim MillerDavis MillsGardner MinshewRick MirerScott MitchellKeith MolesworthBob MonnettJoe MontanaWarren MoonMatt MooreEarl MorrallCraig MortonBill MunsonKyler MurrayJoe NamathBill NelsenCam NewtonGifford NielsenJim NinowskiKen O’BrienNeil O’DonnellCharlie O’RourkeDan OrlovskyKyle OrtonBrock OsweilerMike PagelCarson PalmerBabe ParilliAce ParkerDan PastoriniRodney PeeteSteve PelluerChad PenningtonMike PhippsJoe PisarcikMilt PlumJake PlummerJim PlunkettChristian PonderDak PrescottTerrelle PryorWarren RabbSteve RamseyPatrick RamseyTim RattayGeorge RattermanChris RedmanFrank ReichPhilip RiversJohn RoachMatt RobinsonAaron RodgersBen RoethlisbergerTony RomoJosh RosenSage RosenfelsTobin RoteFrank RyanPat RyanMatt RyanMark RypienSean SalisburyMark SanchezSpec SandersJack ScarbathMatt SchaubJay SchroederBud SchwenkBobby ScottGeorge ShawDennis ShawDick ShinerTrevor SiemianPhil SimmsChris SimmsBrian SipeJohn SkeltonMickey SlaughterAlex SmithGeno SmithDave SmuklerNorm SneadButch SonginSteve SpurrierKen StablerMatthew StaffordBart StarrRoger StaubachKordell StewartDon StrockTua TagovailoaMike TaliaferroRyan TannehillFran TarkentonTyrod TaylorTim TebowSteve TensiVinny TestaverdeJoe TheismannTyler ThigpenBobby ThomasonTommy ThompsonJack ThompsonY.A. TittleRichard ToddMike TomczakFrank TripuckaMitchell TrubiskyJack TrudeauDon TrullJohnny UnitasSam VacantiNorm Van BrocklinAlex Van PeltMichael VickBilly VolekBilly WadeSeneca WallaceSteve WalshKurt WarnerBob WaterfieldDeshaun WatsonBrandon WeedenChris WeinkeCarson WentzDanny WhiteDavid WhitehurstDoug WilliamsWildcat WilsonMarc WilsonDave WilsonWade WilsonRussell WilsonJameis WinstonSonny WintersDick WoodDavid WoodleyRandy WrightAnthony WrightSam WycheDoug WycoffT.J. YatesTom YewcicSteve YoungVince YoungRoy ZimmermanJim ZornRANDOM QUARTERBACKFirst-ring connection with 7.2% of all quarterbacks with at least five TDs to one receiver.

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Tom Brady

Design and development by Anna Wiederkehr and Jay Boice. Text by Neil Paine. Visual editing by Christopher Groskopf. Art by Emily Scherer. Story editing by Sara Ziegler. Copy editing by Santul Nerkar.