Lamar Jackson's Tom Brady fandom has come full circle after GOAT casts MVP vote

BOSTON -- Lamar Jackson was named the NFL's MVP for the 2023 season on Thursday night. It was news that surprised nobody.

While the 27-year-old's postseason bona fides remain in question, there was zero doubt that the award for being the best regular-season player in 2023 would be given to the starting quarterback of the Ravens. Throwing for 3,678 yards with 24 touchdowns (and just seven interceptions) while also rushing for 821 yards and five touchdowns while guiding Baltimore to a 13-3 record in 16 starts will bring about such accolades.

Jackson, though, was not a unanimous selection for the award, as one voter gave his first-place vote to Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen. Considering Allen only received five second-place votes, the first-place vote was certainly an odd choice.

Yet while much focus has been placed on that voter, another name on the list of those who cast MVP ballots stood out quite a bit after the awards ceremony. That name was none other than Tom Brady.

Brady was not the only former player with a vote. His former teammate, Tedy Bruschi, had one, as did Emmanuel Acho, Rich Gannon, Boomer Esiason, Dan Orlovsky, and Jim Miller. Yet Brady's name stood out because, despite a weekly podcast, Brady hasn't really begun his career in media. That career will begin in earnest next year, when the retired quarterback joins FOX Sports' game broadcasts. Regardless, Brady was given one of the 50 votes for the most prestigious award in the NFL -- one that Brady himself has won three times.

And because we know the voter who didn't cast a first-place MVP vote for Jackson, we know that Brady did use his first-ever MVP vote on Jackson.

And for Jackson ... that's got to be pretty cool.

The quarterback has not been shy about his admiration for the former Patriots quarteback, once telling Ray Lewis that he was trying to be like Brady. Ray Lewis did not personally appreciate hearing that.

Brady, who really put in an effort to play the role of welcoming elder statesman to young players during the late stages of his own career, took notice of Jackson early. And before a game in 2019 -- Jackson's first full season as a starter -- Brady made a point to approach Jackson during pregame warmups to let the youngster know that the admiration was mutual.

The Ravens waxed the previously undefeated Patriots that night, 37-20. Still, Brady -- who's not exactly known as someone who took losing well -- sought out the up-and-coming QB to congratulate him at midfield after the game.

Jackson would end up winning his first MVP trophy that season. (He finished his career with a 2-0 record against Brady, adding another win against the Bucs in 2022.)

More recently, Brady welcomed Jackson as a guest on his "Let's Go!" podcast, where the mutual respect and praise continued.

"You're the reason why people watch the NFL, because guys like you," Brady told Jackson.

"I appreciate that. It means a lot coming from you," Jackson said with a nervous laugh.

Jackson also told Brady that he's used the Patriots' 28-3 comeback as motivation for his own team whenever they're trailing in games. 

And now with Brady in retirement, the greatest of all time has cast his first-ever MVP vote for the QB who grew up watching Brady play in the Super Bowl "almost every year." It's perhaps not the biggest story in the football world this week, and Jackson still has quite a bit of ground to cover in his effort to win championships. But it's nevertheless a pretty cool development for the now two-time NFL MVP.