NFL
By: Greg Rector
What is an athletic peak? Brady, James, Lowry, Brees, Rodgers, and Chris Paul. Yes, you guessed it, the old guy around here is going to talk about the changing age that athletes are still highly competitive well beyond what was always told to us by so-called experts. Ages ago it was uncommon to see athletes contribute at a high level beyond age 30. Peak performance was generally considered to be between ages 25 to 30 years old. This era is blowing the doors off that narrative. Sure there have been several athletes to play into their 40’s and even 50″s (Gordie Howe) over the years, but the numbers are growing along with the ages.
NFL:
Obviously, we look at the quarterback position for this sport. Brady will be 44 in early August and is coming off his 7th Super Bowl. Drew Brees retired after turning 42. The league MVP Rodgers will turn 38 in December and if he finds a new home or remains in Green Bay, there are no signs of seeing Rodgers abilities diminish at all. 35 used to be the limit for a long time where the inevitable retirement announcement would be made by most quarterbacks. More and more it’s happening later than that for the elite quarterbacks. Pretty amazing considering the beatings that most quarterbacks’ bodies absorb over a career. Much rarer but happening every so often are running backs that have much, much longer careers than the norm of 3.3. years. Frank Gore has played an incredible 16 years at a position that chews up and spits out most players after 4 to 7 years. Tight ends like Jason Witten and Rob Gronkowski also defying father time.
NBA:
Old warriors in a game where rookies are 19 years old are absolutely commonplace these days. I can remember being absolutely floored watching a 38-year-old Kareem Abdul Jabbar win the NBA Finals MVP at age 38 in 1985. He played at a solid level until retiring at age 42. Now thirty years later we have seen Kobe, Lebron, Lowry, and Paul, all contributing past age 35 at high levels. Lebron was 34 when he won his 4th Finals MVP. Chris Paul is 36 and after the first game of this year, NBA Finals is definitely the leading candidate for Finals MVP. More players are lasting for more seasons now than ever before. We can debate at what level some are contributing without a doubt.
Soccer:
Lionel Messi is 34 and Christiano Ronaldo is 36. Both players have dominated and switched back and forth as to which one is the best player in the world for the last 12 years. In one of the most demanding sports on a body, their play is flat-out remarkable. Consider the number of games both have played in their leagues and then for their national teams. It’s remarkable that both are still feared by opponents.
Other Sports:
Jacob DeGrom is a favorite to win the National League Cy Young award at age 33 he is pitching better now than he has ever pitched before. He looks like he could go several more years at this level. Unbelievably Nolan Ryan who pitched until he was 47 and lasted 27 MLB seasons was considered an absolute freak of nature. Roger Federer just made it to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon at age 39. Nadal is now 35 years -old while Djokovic is 34 years old all in a sport where many great careers were over well before age 30 for ages and ages. No matter the sport we are seeing more athletes that have extended careers and who are playing at a high level.
Performance Factors;
Obviously, training and nutrition are helping these athletes remain competitive longer than ever before. Lebron James has reportedly spent over $1 million dollars a year on his regimen. Teams have greatly improved in both areas as even in the ’70s, ’80s, and the 90’s some professional athletes would use training camps to get into shape. Not happening anymore as it’s a full-time year-round endeavor to stay in top form. For those few guys who don’t do so (I’m looking at you Anthony Davis and Boogie Cousins) you see what happens. Injuries or a greatly diminished ability to contribute at the level many older guys are at now because they take care of themselves so much better today than in years past.
With so many players continuing to play longer and longer, the “Athletic Peak,” is going to change. Personally, I can see the higher end going up to age 33 or 34 in the not too distant future. The one drawback of course is injuries but by being in much better shape a lot of athletes are avoiding major injuries that would halt them from having a longer career.
So I look forward to seeing more athletes going well into their thirties and being contributors for their teams or continue their great individual achievements longer than what we have all been used to. So while way back when the Nolan Ryan’s Gordie Howe’s and the Kareem Abdul- Jabbar’s were very rare indeed, enjoy seeing more of your favorite players playing a few more years at a high level than we have ever seen. Athletic Peak its something else.
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregCowboys
