Tom Brady returned to one of his former home stadiums on Sunday to call the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 33-16 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
After having spent three seasons as a player with the Bucs, it was the first time the Fox broadcaster was here in that capacity. And during the game, he felt the need to clarify a few things that current Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield had to say.
Mayfield had taken a playful jab at the seven-time Super Bowl champion during an appearance on the Casa de Klub podcast with Corey Kluber and Tyler Casagrande. While explaining the difference in their personalities, Mayfield noted that the Buccaneers locker room was a lot less stressed than it was when Brady was here.
“The building was a little bit different with Tom in there,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out. … They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football, for guys who weren’t having as much fun.
“You hear some of the stories about if he didn’t like a certain play call and he didn’t like it throughout the week and they still call it in the game, there might have been a throwaway on purpose or throwing it at the running back or receiver’s feet,” Mayfield added. “There were a lot of mind games going on.”
Those comments swirled around in the week leading up to Sunday’s game and play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt asked Brady about them during the broadcast.
Tom Brady responds to claims from Baker Mayfield that Buccaneers players “weren’t having fun” playing alongside him.
“I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings. If I wanted to have fun, I was going to go to Disneyland with my kids.”pic.twitter.com/G86fUGYfAE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 29, 2024
“I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings,” said Brady. “So, there was a mindset of a champion that I took to work every day. This wasn’t daycare. If I wanted to have fun, I was going to go to Disneyland with my kids.”
After the game, Mayfield told reporters that he thought his comments had been taken out of context, though he didn’t clarify in what way.
“I think a lot of that got taken out of context, and none of it was personal by any means,” said Mayfield, who led four touchdown drives in the victory. “It’s just what he demanded of the guys, and that’s the aura of Tom Brady. And that’s what he did to bring a championship here.
“Nothing personal, but yeah, talking before the game, he’s obviously happy for me and he knows the guys, so he knows how much I enjoy throwing to Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin] [because] he got to do the same. It’s fun to be able to talk about the same experience with a guy like that.”
When Mayfield was told Brady’s reaction during the game, he laughed and reiterated his sentiment.
“Like I said — some things got taken out of context,” Mayfield said. “He did it his own way and that’s why he has seven rings. So, not much else needs to be said.”
The “taken out of context” excuse is often cited in these situations as a way to distance one’s self from comments that get you into hot water. It would be worthwhile to know what Mayfield thinks the missing context is.
All seems well between Brady and Mayfield, who met on the field before the game and seemed to have a good laugh with one another.
Baker must have known that the Fox NFL analyst would say something during the game as a rebuttal. As Burkhardt noted, “The competitive juices are still flowing.”
To which Brady replied, “Still in there. No apologies.”
[ESPN]
