Tom Brady and Drew Brees will meet for just the sixth time Sunday when Brees' New Orleans Saints host Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady and Brees have seven Super Bowl rings between them and about a million NFL records. This meeting, however, is the first time they'll meet as 40-somethings.
It's a rare occurrence for 40-year-old QBs to face each other in the same game. It has, technically, happened only once. In December 2005, while playing in relief, 43-year-old Doug Flutie (New England Patriots) and 42-year-old Vinny Testaverde (New York Jets) became the first pair of quadragenarians to throw passes in the same game.
Players over 40 are less rare in other pro sports, and since 40 is the new 30, and Brees and Brady are in the same division, we're likely to get this NFC South matchup again later in the season.
Here are some other notable 40 vs. 40 meetings:
When: June 8, 1941 -- Chicago White Sox vs. Boston Red Sox
Who: Ted Lyons (Chicago), Lefty Grove (Boston)
Combined age: 81 years old
What happened: Grove and Lyons both pitched 10-inning games. Grove got the win in a 5-3 contest, allowing nine hits and striking out seven. This was the final season of Grove's Hall of Fame career; Lyons would pitch until age 45. It's still the only time in baseball's modern era that two 40-year-olds threw at least 10 innings in the same game.
Fun fact: The most recent time a starting pitcher of any age threw at least 10 innings was Cliff Lee in 2012.
When: March 18, 1970 -- Minnesota North Stars vs. Detroit Red Wings
Who: Gordie Howe (Detroit), Gump Worsley (Minnesota)
Combined age: 82 years old
What happened: There are two goals in NHL history from a 40-year-old against a 40-year-old goalie. This is the first. Howe, at 42, scored in a 2-2 tie. Both Howe and Worsley would eventually be Hall of Famers.
Fun fact: At 52, Howe played in an NHL All-Star Game with a 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky.
When: May 4, 2007 -- New York Mets vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Who: Julio Franco (New York), Randy Johnson (Arizona)
Combined age: 91 years old
What happened: In the oldest matchup of batter vs. pitcher in baseball history, Franco, 48 at the time, hit his last career home run off Johnson. After the home run, Johnson struck out Franco twice. Franco, an ageless wonder, is the oldest player to hit a grand slam and a walk-off home in baseball history.
Fun fact: Franco was the last player to bat against a pitcher (Jim Kaat) who pitched against Ted Williams. Kaat faced Williams in 1959 and Franco in 1982.
When: May 24, 2007 -- New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves
Who: Tom Glavine (New York), John Smoltz (Atlanta)
Combined age: 81 years old
What happened: The two former teammates faced off in a game reminiscent of their Braves' glory days. Smoltz won a 2-1 contest, throwing seven shutout innings, and getting his 200th career win.
Fun fact: Smoltz was the first pitcher in baseball history with 200 wins and 150 saves.
When: Feb. 6, 2010 -- UFC 109
Who: Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman
Combined age: 91 years old
What happened: The matchup was originally planned for 1998, when both were much younger fighters, but injuries delayed the fight for nearly 12 years. For a match a long time in the making, it didn't last a long time. Couture won via submission in the second round. It was Coleman's final fight.
Fun fact: It's the only UFC fight to feature two 45-year-olds.
When: April 3, 2010
Who: Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr.
Combined age: 86 years old
What happened: Nearly 17 years after their first meeting, Hopkins and Jones got their rematch. It was not a good fight, but the 45-year-old Hopkins won a unanimous decision.
Fun fact: The 41-year-old Jones landed just 82 punches in the fight.
When: April 4, 2013 -- New Jersey Devils vs. Boston Bruins
Who: Martin Brodeur (New Jersey), Jaromir Jagr (Boston)
Combined age: 81 years old
What happened: The day he debuted for the Bruins, Jagr scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over the Devils. Brodeur, 40 at the time, is the NHL's leader in goalie wins and shutouts.
Fun fact: Jagr, now 48, is still doing it. He scored 15 goals in the 2019-20 season playing for the Czech Extraliga team HC Kladno, which he owns.
When: April 29, 2016 -- New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
Who: Alex Rodriguez (New York) vs. David Ortiz (Boston)
Combined age: 80 years old
What happened: Two of the era's best home run hitters made history in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. In a 4-2 Red Sox win, both Ortiz and Rodriguez homered. Ortiz's home run came in the eighth and was the difference in the game.
Fun fact: 2016 was Ortiz's last season. He hit 38 home runs that year -- the most by a player in his final season.
When: Jan. 28, 2018 -- San Antonio Spurs vs. Sacramento Kings
Who: Manu Ginobili (San Antonio), Vince Carter (Sacramento)
Combined age: 81 years old
What happened: Vinsanity has seemingly been doing it forever. He came off the bench for the Kings in a blowout loss to score 21 points, while Ginobili scored 15 for the Spurs.
Fun fact: Carter was the first 40-year-old player to hit three or more 3-pointers in a playoff game.
When: Nov. 23, 2018 -- The Match
Who: Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson
Combined age: 90 years old
What happened: With a $9 million purse, golf got its version of Brady vs. Brees. They have 20 career major wins between them. In this unofficial event, the two were tied after 18 holes and went through four playoff holes before Mickelson won.
Fun fact: This led to The Match: Champions for Charity featuring Mickelson paired with Brady and Woods playing with Peyton Manning. Woods and Manning won that event. The foursome's combined age: 179 years.
Research from ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this story.