Jerry Rice Officially Passes 'G.O.A.T.' Label To Tom Brady, I'll Admit It Now!

The debate is officially over ... Jerry Rice is giving up the claim he had to the NFL's "Greatest of All-Time" label, admitting that honor now belongs to Tom Brady!!!

The legendary receiver -- who had been considered the league's G.O.A.T. prior to Brady's epic 7 Super Bowl wins -- relented on an appearance on 95.7 The Game on Monday that Tom's formally passed him on the rankings after the Bucs' title win Sunday.

“When you have seven rings, you’re doing something right," Jerry said, before adding, "He can have that G.O.A.T. status. I never wanted that status anyhow."

Of course, Rice didn't give away the title without taking at least a little jab ... Jerry said Tom's had the ability to pad his resume in a way he never could because of new player safety rules.

"I don’t have seven Super Bowl rings," Rice said, "but I think I played in an era when football was more of a contact sport. You’re seeing a lot of that now -- players are protected."

In case you were wondering, Jerry's old claim to the "G.O.A.T." label was warranted ... he was a 3-time Super Bowl champ, 1-time SB MVP, 13-time Pro Bowler and a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Jerry also holds nearly every receiving record ever ... including an all-time receiving yards mark of 22,895 -- which is more than 5,000 (!!!) ahead of second-place Larry Fitzgerald!

But, Tom's got the 7 rings, 3 NFL MVP awards and 14 Pro Bowl honors ... and he still ain't done yet!!

In fact, Jerry said he wouldn't be surprised to see Brady keep going for TWO more years ... explaining, "I think he can do it now in this league because players are so much more protected."