That’s what the man who led New England to six Super Bowl victories and nine appearances in the NFL’s championship game said when he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in June 2024.
“I am a Patriot for life!”
That’s what the retired quarterback told the crowd at Gillette Stadium in September 2023 at the start of the first NFL season since the end of his 23-year career, which included three seasons and one more Super Bowl win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one. May the best team win.”
That’s what Brady said on the “Let’s Go!” podcast earlier this week. The comment wouldn’t have been a big deal if he had been talking about this year’s Puppy Bowl, in which his clone dog Junie will not be a participant.
But alas, he was talking about Super Bowl XL, which pits the Seattle Seahawks against the team that has a 17-foot bronze statue of Brady outside its stadium (a.k.a. the Patriots).
Now, Brady is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, but they fell just a teensy bit short of making the playoffs after finishing the season at 3-14 and aren’t a factor at all in this weekend’s game in Santa Clara.
Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady speaks at the August 2025 unveiling of a bronze statue of himself at Patriot Place in Foxborough, Mass.
(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
Brady actually did provide plenty of context along with his comment, and we’ll get to that shortly. But first, how about some reactions from Brady’s former Patriots teammates?
Retired linebacker Tedy Bruschi said he has no problem showing his support for New England and coach Mike Vrabel, who played for the Patriots teams that won Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVII and XXXIX.
“That’s the way Tom feels. I got a big-a— dog in the race, I’m telling you that right now,” Bruschi said on Boston’s WEEI 93.7 FM. “That’s my boy right there, you know, Vrabel — eight-year teammate, like a brother of mine. I mean, all of us, really. It’s like, we’ve got a dog in the fight. My dog is big and I’m cheering for him.”
“Raiders ain’t in it,” Wilfork said on WEEI. “Say what it is, what you see.”
He added: “At the end of the day, if you’re a Patriot for life … don’t give me that political bullcrap. That’s just what it is. If you don’t think we’re gonna win, just pick Seattle then. Don’t straddle the fence.”
Retired cornerback Asante Samuel wrote on X: “Tom Brady I am highly I mean highly disappointed in you not rooting for your ex teammate, Mike Vrabel who is about to do something special.”
In a separate post, Samuel suggested that Brady wants to be “the only one winning super bowls.”
Retired tight end Rob Gronkowski said on the “Up & Adams” YouTube show that he hadn’t talked to Brady about the matter yet, but he did have a theory on why his good friend might not be rooting for the Patriots.
“He probably wants to be the quarterback. He’s that competitive,” Gronkowski said. “He wants to be the guy in the Super Bowl right now.”
Retired offensive linebacker Damien Woody said on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike” that Brady’s comment was “ludicrous,” then continued, “I don’t care if you’re the minority owner of the Raiders. Dammit, you have a statue in Foxborough. Make it known. Nobody wants to hear all this, ‘I don’t have a dog in the fight.’ The hell you do! If Robert Kraft put that damn statue outside of his stadium, oh, you better believe you got a dog in the fight.”
OK, now on to what Brady actually said on the podcast. Host Jim Gray asked what this Super Bowl is like for him as someone so closely associated with the Patriots and their past success. As part of his answer, Brady pointed out that there are “always different chapters in your life.”
“And now, in a different phase of my life, I really root for people and the people I care about, the people who I know the work that goes into what they’re trying to accomplish,” Brady said. “So I really want to sit back as a fan and enjoy the game, enjoy the moment. And I always think, may the best team win. You know, it’s not going to be who I’m cheering for, who I think is going to win. It’s going to be decided by the people out there on the field.”
Brady added: “I just want to see good football. I want to see good plays, good throws, good strategy, good decisions. And that’s the joy in the game for me. … So listen, I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one. May the best team win. And in terms of the Patriots, this is a new chapter in New England, and I’m glad everyone’s embraced the Mike Vrabel regime, all the amazing players that have worked so hard to get their club to this position.”
Gray brought up the “idiotic” perception that Brady and other members of the Patriots dynasty might not want this year’s team to succeed and somehow distract from their accomplishments. Brady agreed that such thoughts are “idiotic” and said that all the memories and relationships he built during that era will always mean something to him.
“No one can take those away from me,” Brady said. “So regardless of what anyone would say or think or want to add to the conversation, I’m just excited that the two best teams who have been consistently the best teams all year are playing for the Super Bowl.”
Tom Brady has no ‘dog in the fight’? Patriots teammates fuming
“I am Tom Brady, and I am a Patriot.”
That’s what the man who led New England to six Super Bowl victories and nine appearances in the NFL’s championship game said when he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in June 2024.
“I am a Patriot for life!”
That’s what the retired quarterback told the crowd at Gillette Stadium in September 2023 at the start of the first NFL season since the end of his 23-year career, which included three seasons and one more Super Bowl win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one. May the best team win.”
That’s what Brady said on the “Let’s Go!” podcast earlier this week. The comment wouldn’t have been a big deal if he had been talking about this year’s Puppy Bowl, in which his clone dog Junie will not be a participant.
But alas, he was talking about Super Bowl XL, which pits the Seattle Seahawks against the team that has a 17-foot bronze statue of Brady outside its stadium (a.k.a. the Patriots).
Now, Brady is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, but they fell just a teensy bit short of making the playoffs after finishing the season at 3-14 and aren’t a factor at all in this weekend’s game in Santa Clara.
Also, as a color commentator for NFL games on Fox Sports, he might feel compelled to remain neutral — but the Super Bowl is on NBC this year, so Brady won’t be calling that game.
Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady speaks at the August 2025 unveiling of a bronze statue of himself at Patriot Place in Foxborough, Mass.
(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
Brady actually did provide plenty of context along with his comment, and we’ll get to that shortly. But first, how about some reactions from Brady’s former Patriots teammates?
Retired linebacker Tedy Bruschi said he has no problem showing his support for New England and coach Mike Vrabel, who played for the Patriots teams that won Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVII and XXXIX.
“That’s the way Tom feels. I got a big-a— dog in the race, I’m telling you that right now,” Bruschi said on Boston’s WEEI 93.7 FM. “That’s my boy right there, you know, Vrabel — eight-year teammate, like a brother of mine. I mean, all of us, really. It’s like, we’ve got a dog in the fight. My dog is big and I’m cheering for him.”
Retired defensive lineman Vince Wilfork called Brady’s neutral stance “political bullcrap.”
“Raiders ain’t in it,” Wilfork said on WEEI. “Say what it is, what you see.”
He added: “At the end of the day, if you’re a Patriot for life … don’t give me that political bullcrap. That’s just what it is. If you don’t think we’re gonna win, just pick Seattle then. Don’t straddle the fence.”
Retired cornerback Asante Samuel wrote on X: “Tom Brady I am highly I mean highly disappointed in you not rooting for your ex teammate, Mike Vrabel who is about to do something special.”
In a separate post, Samuel suggested that Brady wants to be “the only one winning super bowls.”
Retired tight end Rob Gronkowski said on the “Up & Adams” YouTube show that he hadn’t talked to Brady about the matter yet, but he did have a theory on why his good friend might not be rooting for the Patriots.
“He probably wants to be the quarterback. He’s that competitive,” Gronkowski said. “He wants to be the guy in the Super Bowl right now.”
Retired offensive linebacker Damien Woody said on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike” that Brady’s comment was “ludicrous,” then continued, “I don’t care if you’re the minority owner of the Raiders. Dammit, you have a statue in Foxborough. Make it known. Nobody wants to hear all this, ‘I don’t have a dog in the fight.’ The hell you do! If Robert Kraft put that damn statue outside of his stadium, oh, you better believe you got a dog in the fight.”
OK, now on to what Brady actually said on the podcast. Host Jim Gray asked what this Super Bowl is like for him as someone so closely associated with the Patriots and their past success. As part of his answer, Brady pointed out that there are “always different chapters in your life.”
“And now, in a different phase of my life, I really root for people and the people I care about, the people who I know the work that goes into what they’re trying to accomplish,” Brady said. “So I really want to sit back as a fan and enjoy the game, enjoy the moment. And I always think, may the best team win. You know, it’s not going to be who I’m cheering for, who I think is going to win. It’s going to be decided by the people out there on the field.”
Brady added: “I just want to see good football. I want to see good plays, good throws, good strategy, good decisions. And that’s the joy in the game for me. … So listen, I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one. May the best team win. And in terms of the Patriots, this is a new chapter in New England, and I’m glad everyone’s embraced the Mike Vrabel regime, all the amazing players that have worked so hard to get their club to this position.”
Gray brought up the “idiotic” perception that Brady and other members of the Patriots dynasty might not want this year’s team to succeed and somehow distract from their accomplishments. Brady agreed that such thoughts are “idiotic” and said that all the memories and relationships he built during that era will always mean something to him.
“No one can take those away from me,” Brady said. “So regardless of what anyone would say or think or want to add to the conversation, I’m just excited that the two best teams who have been consistently the best teams all year are playing for the Super Bowl.”
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