The word that best describes Tom Brady after his playoff elimination is cranky. Tom has been feeling the blues after the Cowboys knocked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out in their wild-card round matchup. The Bucs were never the favorites going into the playoffs this year. However, Brady remembers every NFL analyst who called them out during the season. This includes a former Super Bowl-winning teammate from his days at Foxborough.
Tom Brady isn’t exactly a fan of dissecting football games, followed by a truckload of criticism. And the 15x Pro Bowler picked up a beef with his ex-New England Patriots linebacker, Rob Ninkovich.
Tom Brady had the rudest text response when Rob messaged
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Ninkovich won two championship rings with Brady under Bill Belichick’s regime. However, the brotherhood seems to have gone out the window. Rob joined the ESPN NFL desk as an analyst after retiring in 2017 and forayed into the world of judgement. And the Buccaneers deserved some criticism after their dismal show this season.
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Rob Ninkovich was present in the ‘Keyshawn, JWill and Max’ show on ESPN, and revealed a cold interaction between the former brothers-in-arms.
Tom Brady sent salty text to former Patriots teammate Rob Ninkovich after Bucs loss https://t.co/qCCplH0gh8 pic.twitter.com/1mWZJ50jk0
— New York Post (@nypost) January 27, 2023
When the hosts wanted Rob’s opinion on if Tom Brady should return or retire, Ninkovich narrated the to-and-fro texting episode. “I’ve been trying to get some info out of that, and I’m not getting anywhere with that. Then I tried to be nice and you know, hit up a friend and be like, ‘Hey man, great season. I hope you’re recovering… you finished well, you still got it.’And he responds: ‘Not according to your hard-hitting analysis,’” Rob said.
Brady should get acclimated to the criticism process, given his future role
The NFC South champions would have had a tough time qualifying for the playoffs if their division was not so dreadful this season. This was the first time Brady finished the season with a losing record in his 23 years of playing in the NFL. Justifiably, the 7x Super Bowl champion is not in the best of moods. This was obvious in the latest edition of the ‘Let’s Go Podcast’ on SiriusXM, where TB12 dropped quite a few f-bombs. And with his gridiron days dwindling, Brady has to think about his future as a broadcaster.
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As a post-retirement plan, Tom Brady has signed a 10-year $375 million contract with Fox to appear on their NFL on Fox Sports desk as a sports analyst. And he can criticize Rob Ninkovich all he wants for doing his job. However, Brady has to prepare himself to do the same thing he despises so much when his playing days are finally up.
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Currently in Miami, spending some quality time with his celebrity friends and his children, TB12 has no plans to decide anything right now. And his NFL future still hangs in the balance.