Playing for the New England Patriots for 20 years under former head coach Bill Belichick, Tom Brady is no stranger to being in hot water with the NFL.
Though he traded in his helmet for a headset, that hasn’t shielded Brady from finding himself in the league’s crosshairs, which is where he might just be after his remarks in Sunday’s 24-14 Detroit Lions win over the Green Bay Packers.
Brady was given a special set of rules to abide by after his minority ownership in the Las Vegas Raiders was approved by the NFL owners earlier this year. Among them was a stipulation that he couldn’t be critical of NFL officials during any games he was broadcasting.
Brady may have violated that agreement in the second quarter of Sunday’s game when he see disagreed with the officials’ decision to eject Lions safety Brian Branch for hitting Packers receiver Bo Melton in the head while defending a pass.
“I don’t love that call at all,” Brady said. “Obviously, it’s a penalty, but to me, there has to be serious intent in a game like this.”
Whether or not Brady actually broke the terms of his ownership agreement seems to be open to interpretation as the rules seem to be a bit ambiguous.
By the spirit of the law, he technically did publicly criticize the officials. However, his phrasing was so mild — and actually he agreed with the penalty call — the NFL could enforce its strict rules or look the other way.
It’s not clear what exactly Brady’s punishment would be, but for a first offense he’d probably be looking at a five-figure fine.
Regardless of what happens, Brady could be playing with fire if he’s testing his limits to see what he can and can’t get away with.
