"They seemed to have smartened up a little bit" - Tom Brady gives Roger Goodell and the NFL backhanded compliment for new rule
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady couldn't stop throwing some shade at Roger Goodell and the NFL.
During a press conference yesterday, Brady was asked about the new Pro Bowl format and his penchant for skipping the game. He replied:
“Is there a game? I don’t think there’s a game this year, is there? So they finally took my . . . you know, watched what I’ve done all these years. They seemed to have smartened up a little bit.”
Brady quickly peddled back on his comment, saying:
“I shouldn’t say ‘smartening up.' I didn’t want anybody to get offended by that so I apologize. I meant that as just a joke.”
Tom Brady, often diplomatic while facing questions from journalists, let his guard slip for once and landed a not-so-subtle jibe at commissioner Goodell. However, he decided to walk back on it almost immediately.
How many Pro Bowls has Tom Brady played in?
Tom Brady has been named a Pro Bowler 15 times in his 23-year career but has only played twice in the Pro Bowl game. Brady featured in 2002 and 2005 Pro Bowl games and has skipped the subsequent 13 times he was voted.
The Pro Bowl was played after the Super Bowl until 2010, unlike now, where it's held after the AFC and NFC Championship games and before the Super Bowl. Brady has had the excuse of skipping the Pro Bowl due to an impending Super Bowl appearance six times since 2010, but the quarterback has simply refused to show up to the NFL's All-Star week equivalent on nine occasions.
Brady's former teammate Brandon Spikes once shared a story explaining the quarterback's disdain for the Pro Bowl. He said:
"I'd been playing off the charts. And I didn't get picked to go to the Pro Bowl. I was moping around, actually in tears, and a few guys were trying to lift me up, like, it's gonna be alright man. We've got to worry about what's in front of us."
He continued:
"Then The Pharaoh himself walks up to me, I used to call Brady The Pharaoh and he hated that. Brady walks up to me and says, 'Hey B, you think I play this s--t to go to Pro Bowls? Get it together. Get your head up. We're trying to win rings. That's what it is here.' That's where I knew what kind of environment I was in, how blessed I was."
The waning interest among players and fans forced the NFL to abandon the old Pro Bowl format and replace it with a skills competition and a flag football game. While the new format may be slightly more exciting for players and fans, don't expect Tom Brady to participate if he's named a Pro Bowler ever again.