Why Joe Montana Is Annoyed With Tom Brady

Suddenly, with the astonishing Super Bowl comeback behind us, decades of debate around the question "Who is the greatest quarterback of all time," seems to have been settled.

The consensus is, as Ali used to say, Brady is "The Greatest!"

Well, not so fast on the consensus thing. Consensus is not the same as universal and one iconic quarterback who used to hold the vaunted title of The Greatest, Joe Montana, is not conceding the title to Brady. In fact, Montana's recent comments reveal that he's not having any of the Brady mania.

And that he's not ceding his title to anyone.

As a sports marketing executive, I see no reason to settle this debate--if that's even possible. Instead, I know that Montana, Brady, Peyton, and all of the living greats share something that is highly valuable and powerful: they are exceptional marketing "brands" unto themselves.

It may seem at this moment that when it comes to brand power deals, speaking engagements, endorsements, events and the like, It's Brady and only Brady who fits the bill for corporate clients.

But that's far from the truth. If the opportunity calls for an iconic Hall Of Famer or an inspiring coach behind a great QB, Montana or Belichick may top the list.

The key point is that in seeking to leverage the power of sports in the workplace and the executive suite, you want to avoid the crowd all rushing toward the same few names at the same time and to analyze instead:

*What is my business goal?
*Who is best suited to help us to achieve that?
*How much should I pay?
*Where will I generate the highest ROI?

My role is to figure out this puzzle and advise on the ideal athlete for every given business goal.

I'll leave The Greatest title to the fans.