Robert Griffin III calls out Stephen A. Smith, doubles down on GOAT debate in Patrick Mahomes vs. Tom Brady

Robert Griffin III wanted to make one thing very clear this week ahead of Super Bowl LIX: he was the first to suggest Patrick Mahomes could surpass Tom Brady as the NFL’s new GOAT — the greatest of all-time — with a win Sunday night.

During a recent appearance on The Dan Patrick Show this week leading into Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Griffin — the former ESPN analyst-turned-podcaster and Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor — was asked by host Dan Patrick what Mahomes must accomplish to overtake Brady, the NFL’s only seven-time Super Bowl champion, as the GOAT of the NFL.

His simple response appeared to catch Patrick off guard, as did Griffin calling out former ESPN colleague and First Take host Stephen A. Smith about his recent take on the matter.

“Win. … He’s just got to win. He’s got to win on Sunday. That’s it. He’s passed Brady if he wins on Sunday,” Griffin said Friday. “And I’ve been saying this since they won the last Super Bowl. I think there’s this guy at ESPN, like really popular guy at ESPN, and he’s been going on this rave about if Mahomes wins he’s greater than Brady. … (I’m) talking about Stephen A. Smith. … No one’s takes are their takes per say, but if someone’s been saying it since last February that if Mahomes wins and three-peats, he’s the greatest of all-time.”

That prompted the obvious follow-up question: why would Mahomes’ four Super Bowl wins, including three in a row should the Chiefs win Sunday night, make him the GOAT over Brady’s NFL-record seven Super Bowl championships?

Robert Griffin: Patrick Mahomes-Tom Brady debate akin to Michael Jordan-Bill Russell

“I’m sure you’ve guys have heard this argument before, it’s the whole Michael Jordan–Bill Russell situation,” Griffin said about the longstanding NBA debate. “But I think it’s not even the four, because … I think the fact that he’d be the first quarterback to three-peat. I think that makes (his) four (Super Bowls) greater than (Brady’s) seven because he’s done something that’s never been done. And why do we say Brady’s the GOAT? Because he’s done something that’s never been done before.

“So if you can do something that even Brady couldn’t accomplish, that to me – in seven years, four in seven years with a three-peat? – yeah, that makes you the GOAT. You’re the greatest of all-time. He’s already the most talented we’ve ever seen.”

Patrick then made the point he personally requires any discussion about “the greatest of all-time” should be reliant on long-term, sustained success, to which Griffin acquiesced that his opinion on Mahomes could change if the Chiefs’ QB retired after the season, but that isn’t likely.

“If they win the Super Bowl and (Mahomes) decides ‘I’m retiring,’ … uh, I’d probably feel differently,” Griffin said. “But I don’t think he’s going anywhere, and knowing him and his trainer, Bobby Stroupe, they’re prepared to play just as long as Brady did. And I think he’s just creating a generation of quarterbacks that are not going to win Super Bowls.”

When Patrick suggested sports fans might view the conversation between Brady and Mahomes much the same way Michael Jordan and LeBron James are talking about now – essentially acknowledging the greatness of both without necessarily taking anything away from the other – he playfully asked Griffin if he wanted to claim that take for himself.

“I will give you credit,” Griffin said, before closing the segment with another shot at Stephen A. Smith. “We’re looking at someone, give credit for your takes! It’s documented, it’s on Twitter, everywhere.”