EDITORS’ LETTER
THEY’VE
STILL GOT IT
BY THE EDITORS OF
SPORTS ILLUSTRATEDT HAPPENS when you hit your mid-40s:
Tom Brady is slipping. In December 2005,
the first time he was SI’s Sportsperson of
the Year (r i ght), the quarterback had just won his
third Super Bowl in four years. This December,
as he’s Sportsperson for a second time, Brady is
coming off a stretch when he needed an ungodly
five years to win three Super Bowls. And the title
he won last February, in his first season after
moving from New England to Tampa Bay, wasn’t
even a repeat. Tom, to borrow one of your favorite
phrases...Let’s go. Pick up the pace.
May we all age so poorly. At 44, in his 22nd
NFL season, Brady has redefined the standards
for athletic achievement and longevity. But this
Sportsperson of the Year honor—only two other
SI SOTYs, LeBron James and Tiger Woods,
have been recognized more than once—is no
lifetime achievement award. As you’ll find out
in L. Jon Wertheim’s story (page 24), Brady is as
committed and focused on being the best at his
chosen profession in 2021 as he was in ’05—and
he might be playing at a higher level.
That may seem like a rarity, but 2021 was
generally a good year for athletes chasing
excellence at what once were considered
advanced ages. Phil Mickelson became
golf ’s oldest major winner when he took the
PGA Championship at age 50. Hélio Castroneves
(page 74) won his fourth Indy 500 at 46.
Candace Parker, 35, who we honored at theDec. 7 Sports Illustrated Awards
gala as our Hometown Hero,
returned to her native Chicago and
in her first season led the Sky to
the franchise’s first WNBA title.
There’s a common thread among
these boundary-pushing champions:
the constant pursuit of new
challenges. Fourteen seasons into
her career, Parker was determined
to deliver a championship to
the city where she learned the
game. Brady, after 20 years in
New England, found new energy
and purpose by leaving his longtime
home. The lesson here isn’t about
championships or chasing accolades.
It’s that constantly moving forward
and seeking new adventures might
be the key to feeling younger than
your body tells you to feel. It’s the
spirit that makes a Sportsperson.SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR 2021I
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SKY’S THE
LIMIT
Parker (top)
was one of
several late-
career athletes
who thrived
this year.