Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN First Take set at the CFP Fan Central at the George World Congress Center.

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Stephen A Smith’s Conflicting Takes Surrounding the NFL GOAT

Stephen A. Smith seems confused as to who the NFL's GOAT is

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN First Take set at the CFP Fan Central at the George World Congress Center.

Stephen A Smith, a renowned and long-time NFL analyst who is working for ESPN is known to give some atrocious takes every now and then. Smith, who has a lot of experience in the world of sports journalism covers mainly the NFL and the NBA nowadays. His unique delivery style as well as his approach of making a mockery of teams, players, and even his companions has garnered its own audience.

Smith, who was born and brought up in The Bronx, New York, in 1957, started his journalism journey in print media in the early 90s following which he made a switch to radio and television as well. Despite having a rich background in sports journalism, Smith’s recent contradicting opinions came to light just before Super Bowl LIX where the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Philadelphia Eagles.

Stephen A Smith’s Comments After Super Bowl LV

Four years ago, following the aftermath of Super Bowl LV in which the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers trounced the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9, Smith heavily criticized the Chiefs’ starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes while talking about the GOAT of football.

At the time, Mahomes had only played in his second Super Bowl and had just one ring, but many media analysts had already started comparing Mahomes to Brady and other legendary quarterbacks of the game.

Following the Chiefs’ loss in Super Bowl LV, Smith went on ESPN’s First Take show saying “The issue is the GOAT. All of that stuff is over. It’s over. Because here is the deal, it’s not just about 7 Championships to 1, forget all that. Here’s what it’s about, no matter what you do in your career, you lost to the man considered the GOAT, who beat you at age 43. We will consistently remember that encounter.” Going by what he said that day, Smith made it very clear that Patrick Mahomes would never be considered the GOAT as he lost to Brady – who is still perceived as the GOAT with his 7 rings.

Stephen A Smith’s Comments Prior To Super Bowl LIX

Once again while working for First Take on ESPN, Smith was recently asked whether a three-peat by the Chiefs would mean that Mahomes is the GOAT, he had the following to say: “If Patrick Mahomes three-peats, that solidifies it.”

Now, granted Mahomes has gone on to win back-to-back Championships and has a grand total of three rings. He had the chance of adding ring number 4 to his resume along with the first-ever three-peat in the Super Bowl era, however, that would not have changed the fact that Mahomes was still three rings shy of Brady and lost to him in the Super Bowl. The latter being the point Smith had based his whole take on a few seasons ago.

Stephen A Smith’s Comments Post Super Bowl LIX

Post Super Bowl LIX, Smith now maintains the opinion that there will be no GOAT debate for the foreseeable future, but Mahomes still has a long career ahead of him which means you never say never.

However, Smith seems to have shifted his focus to another argument where he is now blasting Mahomes for the amount of turnovers he has in the Championship games and the lack of ability to keep the Chiefs in the hunt in both Super Bowls Kansas City has lost. He goes on to say that even in his three losses, Brady always kept the Patriots in contention to win the games. It is quite evident from all this that Smith keeps changing his stand every time when it comes to the GOAT debate which in his own words is ‘blasphemous’.

Also Read: Should the Eagles resign Zack Baun?

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Patrick Mahomes

Stephen A. Smith

Tom Brady

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!