Brady ranked fifth-most hated in NFL history

The New England Patriots’ Tom Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.

He’s also among the most hated. That’s the assessment of the Sporting News, which is calling Brady, the former Michigan quarterback, the fifth-most hated player all-time in the NFL.

The top four on the list are Michael Vick, Terrell Owens, former Lion Ndamukong Suh and Greg Hardy.

The Sporting News intentionally left four players off the list – players whose crimes were so egregious that there was “no sense debating” their place on the list. Those players were Aaron Hernandez, Rae Carruth, O.J. Simpson and Ray Rice.

It’s a flawed list, to be sure, as there are no players from earlier than the 1970s.

In addition, Tim Tebow checks in at No. 21. Tim Tebow? Not a great NFL quarterback, no doubt, but hated?

At any rate, here are the 40 players on the Sporting News list:

1. Michael Vick

2. Terrell Owens

3. Ndamukong Suh

4. Greg Hardy

5. Tom Brady

6. Ray Lewis

7. Bill Romanowski

8. Ben Roethlisberger

9. Pacman Jones

10. Adrian Peterson

New Lions QB Rudock never complacent playing football

11. Michael Irvin

12. Jay Cutler

13. Albert Haynesworth

14. Conrad Dobler

15. James Harrison

16. Johnny Manziel

17. Richie Incognito

18. Randy Moss

19. Deion Sanders

20. Cam Newton

21. Tim Tebow

22. Brett Favre

23. Chad Johnson

24. Chuck Cecil

25. Cortland Finnegan

26. Jack Tatum

27. Hines Ward

28. Vontaze Burfict

29. Bryan Cox

30. Mark Gastineau

31. Keyshawn Johnson

32. Ricky Williams

33. Richard Sherman

34. Jim McMahon

35. Lawrence Taylor

36. Odell Beckham Jr.

37. Rodney Harrison

38. Rob Gronkowski

39. Marshawn Lynch

40. Eli Manning