Many figures in sports have shared their predictions for the upcoming Super Bowl matchup in San Francisco between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, but the one fans were most curious about — Tom Brady — didn’t give the answer many expected.
Brady currently works for Fox Sports and is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, so public bias hasn’t been part of his post-retirement persona. Meanwhile, his Fox colleagues and former Patriots teammates Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski have both voiced clear support for New England on Sunday.
Brady, however, said he simply hopes for a good game and “has no dog in the fight,” despite spending 20 years with the Patriots and winning six Super Bowls with the franchise.
“I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one. May the best team win,” Brady said this week on the Let’s Go! Sirius XM podcast with Jim Gray. “And in terms of the Patriots, this is a new chapter in New England, and I’m glad everyone’s embraced the Mike Vrabel regime — all the amazing players that have worked so hard to get their club to this position. We did it for 20 years. There was a little bit of a hiatus in there, but the Patriots are back, and it’s a very exciting time for everyone in New England.”
While Brady is correct that this is a new era in New England, the team is still owned by the same family, features his former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and has Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, one of Brady’s former teammates.
Some fans understood Brady’s comments, recognizing he is no longer part of the organization and has a stake in the Raiders. Others felt he slighted his former team, arguing he could have publicly backed the Patriots in their first Super Bowl since the 2018-19 season, when Brady was their quarterback.
“Shocked, always believed he was a patriot for life. Guess I misunderstood him,” a fan said.
Someone else added, “People claim Bill is an all time grudge holder, which is true, but so is Tom. He’s still mad they didn’t keep him till the end.”
Another person wrote, “Brady is and always has been about Brady. Never the team or teammates.”
“That’s just [explicative] sad to be honest man . Especially as a franchise you have beat before why wouldn’t you root against them… with the same team you played for… weird behavior,” a fan shared.
One more person commented, “He’s been moving real funny I can’t lie.”
Some fans have speculated that Brady’s neutrality is because he’ll be on the broadcast call for the game, but that isn’t the case. NBC is the home network for this year’s Super Bowl, meaning Brady’s second season in the booth concluded after the NFC Championship Game.
Brady and the Raiders, however, appear to have settled on their next head coach in Las Vegas, with all signs pointing to Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak joining the organization after Sunday. That development could also be influencing Brady’s decision to stay neutral.