Tom Brady, 46, Beats Tom Brady, 22, At 40-Yard Dash In NFL Combine Redemption

Just how bad was Tom Brady’s 40-yard dash time at the 2000 NFL combine? So bad, even a 46-year-old man could beat it.

And by "46-year-old man," I mean Tom Brady himself. 

After defeating 251 opponents in the regular and postseason throughout his illustrious NFL career, the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback decided to face one foe that perhaps plagued him more than any other in his career.

No, it wasn’t Peyton Manning, who won three out of their five postseason matchups. It wasn’t Peyton’s younger brother Eli, who crushed my heart twice as a young fan by beating Brady in the Super Bowl (side note: Eli is a pretty good freestyle rapper).

Tom Brady was a phenomenal passer, but a terrible runner in his career. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Brady wanted to show he had improved his speed, and that he was faster than, well, a younger version of himself.

It’s no secret that this quarterback, for all his greatness, was consistently one of the slowest guys on the field. You’d think he had cinder blocks tied to his ankles any time he tried to "scramble" (a generous term really) for more than four yards.

His straight-line speed wasn’t better either. When he arrived at the 2000 NFL Combine, he ran a pathetic 5.28 40-yard time. It did nothing to improve his draft status, or, as we learned in episode one of Apple TV’s "The Dynasty," his impression on some of his teammates.

In large part, his 40-yard time dropped him to the sixth round where (thankfully) the Patriots scooped him up. 23 years and seven Super Bowl titles later (ah, the good ol’ days), the rest is history. 

But being the competitive guy he is, he wanted to show that 22-year old combine flop that he could beat him in a footrace.

Tom Brady Eclipsed His Old 40-yard-Dash Time…But Not By Much

Brady released a video yesterday to help advertise for his new TB12 partner company, No Bull. In the promo, he showed himself running another 40-yard dash to see if he could eclipse the time set by his younger self.

"I need to do this," Brady said in the video.

And he did…barely.

The Combine time was 5.28. His time in the video was 5.18.

One last time, Brady proved that he can beat anybody, even himself, if he puts in the work. And that’s No Bull.

Well, except for maybe those pesky Manning brothers.