How is it possible that the 45 yo Tom Brady still plays professionally?

It's a combination of several things:

(1) the quarterback position is the least demanding athletically on the whole body: Yes, QBs have strong arms but they don't need to have whole-body strength and speed like running backs and wide receivers. The players in non-QB positions have a peak of ~5 years and then quickly drop off from wear & tear. The QB position depends more on intellect -- "reading the field" and making quick decisions to get rid of the ball -- rather than running all over the field. Similar reason to why place kickers who just kick field goals can have longer careers than running backs.

(2) the particular style Tom Brady plays: he plays in a deliberate "low injury risk" way. He very rarely "scrambles" (runs out of the pocket). Scrambling opens up the quarterback to violent hits from defenders causing season-ending knee and ankle injuries. Famous scramblers that had horrific injuries include Randall Cunningham, Robert Griffin III, etc. Tom Brady got his big chance in the NFL because the QB he replaced (Drew Bledsoe) got injured during a scramble. During a play, Brady stays very aware of the offensive live protection collapsing around him and he instantly tucks the ball and crumples his body. This means he doesn't get body slammed to the ground while his arm is in mid-throwing motion, or get his knees/ankles crushed by defenders.

(3) NFL rules that evolved to protect the quarterback more and more: A 1980s quarterback like Dan Marino would get more physically punished by rushing defenders than today's quarterbacks like Tom Brady. The NFL added stricter rules because the quarterbacks are the highest-profile "stars" of the league so having them not playing on tv because of injuries is not in their best interest.

He plays quarterback and plays that position like old school players, he's a statue. Go find a video of him running, it ain't pretty and he isn't fast. The game has changed a bit too with less contact, especially for QB's. Defensive players will get called for many more penalties today than 15 years ago so that has worked in his favor later in his career.

Some of his success should also be attributed to being with one of the best coaches of all time. Many of the teams he played on had a top defense which really helps in the NFL. And then there's luck that he hasn't had any major injuries.

There have been other players professionally competent into their 40's but it is rare. I think a lot of it is just more knowledge about nutrition, health science, etc.

Nolan Ryan in baseball was an anomoly as well, played for 27 years in a physically demanding position as a pitcher.

While I do watch a little football I am not an expert, but when does that stop anyone from giving an opinion.

From what a much more knowledgeable person told me, “Brady takes what the defense gives him”

Some player run and create plays with their speed and arm. Brady has been playing 20+ years and will read the defense very well and throw the ball pretty accurately to whichever receiver has best chance of a completion even if it’s a short pass. Younger players might go for bigger flashier plays.

Combine this with having the referees be deferential to him and making sure other players are not to rough on him.

Several outstanding NBA players have competed well into their 40s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_and_youngest_Na...

Remarkably, this doesn't appear to be a "career bonus" solely for (the less injury-prone?) point guards or centers. All positions are present, including power forwards like Karl Malone.

I'm not in the US -- could one say that current NBA games have a considerably faster pace (more jump-and-shoot) as compared to, say, the early 1990s? This would probably require more physical strength, which makes the 40+ guys even more interesting.

I played handball during my teens, and I remember a renowned goalkeeper who performed incredibly at age 45+ (possibly even at national team level or thereabouts; at least as first goalie of our country's number one team). IIRC, he was also a dedicated smoker, always having a pre-game cigarette, LOL -- in all seriousness, this probably contributed somewhat to keeping him exceptionally alert during the game.

I find it fascinating that we're in an era where there are more elite sportspeople playing deep into their thirties or fourties across many sports that historically saw shorter careers. Ronaldo and Messi in football, Federer and Williams in tennis, Anderson in Cricket, Brady too.

Is this simply a coincidence? Or maybe they're the elite vanguard of a wave of people who experienced most/all of their career during the age of sports science? I wonder if this will be more and more commonplace: if you have that level of talent and discipline, you can stay at that level for longer.

As the famous Swede Zlatan Ibrahimović (footballer, 40 years old, AC Milan) might put it, "Lions don't age like humans".

I can't speak for Tom Brady, but I compete in Badminton on Wednesdays and Fridays at Coulton Sports Center. Opponents are sometimes half my age because the school is also using the center, but I always finish a hard 45 mins.

In addition to the physical things mentioned elsewhere, the Quarterback is the brains of the team during a play. They get the ball, and need to have very rapid situational awareness & risk assessments to choose who throw the ball to depending on where openings are appearing or not. This is very difficult.

The running patterns the receivers follow are pre determined, but who gets the pass is not. You need to determine, who is open, where will be they be in x seconds, will the defensive line hold or is someone going to knock you down before the pass, is there a good opening to just run for it yourself instead of passing, etc.

In the early to mid 00's the NFL changed their rules to protect QBs more.

Also the athletes that make enough to spend close to a million dollars a year on body maintenance and conditioning will see a great benefit in longevity.

Well, not exactly related, but the question reminds me of one posed to Ivan Sutherland[0]:

"""When asked: "How could you possibly have done the first interactive graphics program, the first non-procedural programming language, the first object oriented software system, all in one year?", Sutherland replied: "Well, I didn't know it was hard"""

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Sutherland

I can’t speak for Tom Brady specifically, but across various professional sports I think we’re seeing an increase in athletes’ competitive longevity, probably thanks to improvements in sports science (interpret that phrase how you will).

For example, in football (soccer) we’re seeing players competitive at the highest level well into their mid-to-late 30s. In cycling (a sport which offers nowhere to hide) Alejandro Valverde is still competing at 42, and was world champion in 2018 in his late 30s.

One thing I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned is that Brady is known to be a complete health nut. His diet, exercise and lifestyle regimens are freakish.

While Tom Brady is an outlier, you can’t forget about HGH.

Everyone seems to be trying to explain what Brady does differently, but another possible explanation is that he has unique genetics that have provided him a long career. If the average tenure for a professional career is 5 (or whatever) years, there will be outliers. Maybe Brady is just an extreme outlier and his body is naturally more resistant to damage or aging effects.

https://linktr.ee/thebradymentality

There's certainly genetics, style of play, etc that people are mentioning but , a larger impact must be the advances, treatments and information normal people don't have access to like nutrition, performance enhancing drugs, age defying drugs, physical therapists, massage therapists, etc...

Until Federer et al. came along, it was common knowledge that tennis was a young person's game. Competing in singles past your mid-twenties was unconceivable, at the highest levels.

So, I guess the answer to all this is "fast progress in sports medicine"