Tom Brady is somehow the highest-rated quarterback in Madden 23

BOSTON -- Forty-five. Say it out loud, people. Forty-freaking-five.

That is the birthday which Tom Brady will celebrate in a couple of weeks. His 45th. Smack dab in the middle of middle age.

And when Brady does blow out those candles on his avocado cake, he'll be doing so as the highest-rated quarterback in the world, according to Madden, the world's preeminent football video game.

Madden released its ratings for quarterbacks on Friday, and there was nobody at the position with a grade as high as Brady's 97.

Brady rated just a tick higher than fellow elder statesman Aaron Rodgers, who graded out at 96 entering his age 38 season. Behind Rodgers was Patrick Mahomes (95), Josh Allen (92), and Joe Burrow (90) to round out both the top five and all of the QBs who rated 90 or better. (Mac Jones rated at a 78, 17th-best in the NFL, for Patriots fans who may be curious.)

Some of Brady's individual grades don't rank particularly highly, like his speed (obviously), strength, and agility. But he has a 99 awareness grade, a 92 throw power grade, a 99 short accuracy grade, a 96 medium accuracy grade, a 95 deep accuracy grade, a 99 overall accuracy grade, a 99 injury grade, a 99 stamina grade, and a 99 toughness grade. It's hard to argue with any of that.

Of course, in the grand scheme of things (or even in the small scheme of things), video game ratings mean less than nothing. Not only are they arbitrary to begin with, but they also change during the season based on players' real-life performances. So rating No. 1 in the summer is only useful for an ego stroke or two before real life begins again.

Still, it's nevertheless ridiculous that the soon-to-be-45-year-old man is considered to be the best at his position right here and right now. At this point, millions of kids have grown up hoping to become a quarterback with greatness that could match or surpass Brady. For 21 years, he's been a star. For 21 years, everyone has used him as the measuring stick, hoping that one day he'd fall off, or get bored, or get injured beyond repair, thus opening the door for someone else to lay claim as the best in the world. Draft class after draft class after draft class has been chock full of the next great QBs. Some have thrived, no doubt. But nobody's come close to his accomplishments, and even as he approaches forty-freaking-five, he's still considered by many to be the best in the business.

It's a story so implausible that it wouldn't even make sense in a video game. Yet here we are.

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