Current and former Patriots alike are not too happy with Tom Brady heading into Super Bowl LX.
Brady made waves when he said earlier this week that he didn’t “have a dog in the fight” in Sunday's game between the Patriots and Seahawks.
From the man who said “I am Tom Brady, and I am a Patriot” less than two years ago at his Patriots Hall of Fame enshrinement and won six Super Bowls in New England, the non-endorsement was a shock to many.
Brady has some built-in excuses, as a minority owner for the Las Vegas Raiders and also a broadcaster for FOX, although the Pats legend will not be in the booth on Sunday. Brady's Raiders are expected to hire Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to be their next head coach. Even still, his words have echoed quite a bit in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, and they’re not being received well by Patriots Nation.
His former teammate, Vince Wilfork, didn’t like what he heard from Brady.
“That's bull crap, Tom,” Wilfork, who won two Super Bowls with Brady, said on Boston radio station WEEI, via ESPN. “All that political (stuff), this ain't political. It ain't political, what it is. Raiders ain't in it. Say what it is, what you see.”
One of the WEEI hosts said he felt Brady should root for New England so that he can be called a Patriot for life, and Wilfork didn’t appear to disagree with the sentiment.
“At the end of the day, if you're a Patriot for life, you know what it is,” Wilfork said. “Don't give me that political bull crap. That's just what it is.
“If you don't think we're gonna win, just pick Seattle then. Don't straddle the fence.”
One of Brady’s best friends with the Patriots, Rob Gronkowski, who said he had no problem supporting his former team, suggested that Brady not supporting the Patriots is an indication of the QB’s desire to still be out there playing.
“(Brady) probably wants to be the quarterback,” Gronkowski said on Up & Adams. “He's that competitive. He probably wants to be the guy in the Super Bowl right now.”
Former Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel, another of Brady’s ex-teammates, posted on X that he thinks Brady is jealous of Drake Maye.
Even this year’s Patriots have their thoughts. Linebacker Robert Spillane, who is in his first year with the club, said Thursday that “personally it makes me sick” for Brady to say he doesn’t have a dog in the fight.
"He has a dog in the fight," Spillane said. "For him to say that, it is what it is, but at the end of the day, he's an owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. So he has to do what's best for him."
Brady tried to explain his perspective on the matter, saying he was in “a different phase in my life” where he cheers for the people he cares about and has ties to.
“I really wanna sit back as a fan and enjoy the game, enjoy the moment,” he said.
So far, Patriots supporters new and old aren’t letting Brady have his enjoyment.
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