49ers news: Where Steph Curry ranks among all-time Bay Area athletes

All-time Bay Area athlete No. 1: Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders (NFL)

It can’t be anyone else. Seriously. Not Joe Montana. Not Steph Curry.

No, the Hall of Famer and the GOAT himself, Jerry Rice, takes home the prize as the best Bay Area athlete of all time. It’s not even close.

Sure, we do have to include Rice’s three-plus years with the Oakland Raiders as part of his Bay Area lore, and he did appear in a Super Bowl with Oakland in the latter stages of his career. Yet it’s his time with the 49ers that didn’t just cement him as an all-time NFL great.

But perhaps the greatest football player in history.

We can talk about Rice’s 13 Pro Bowls, 10 All-Pros and three Super Bowl rings all we want. Those achievements alone would put him into the top five, perhaps even into the top three of all-time Bay Area athletes.

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However, it’s the nature of Rice’s individual accomplishments and how untouchable many of them are that stand alone.

Case in point, Rice’s 22,895 receiving yards over his 21-year career not only rank the most in the history of the NFL, but the next highest-leading receiver, former Arizona Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald, trails that number by 5,403 yards for second place on that list.

In all likelihood, no one will ever come close to breaking Rice’s all-time mark.

And few will likely come close to unseating this 49ers legend from his rightful spot as the No. 1 Bay Area athlete of all time.