Even those that hate him have to admit that Tom Brady is a legendary figure in NFL history. He is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time, and even those that refuse to put him at number one have him somewhere in their top ten.
Thanks to all of his fame and many Super Bowl appearances, the NFL often props Brady up as the golden boy as the NFL, and because of that, there are more than a few moments they’d like fans to forget about. Being at the top brings on a lot of scrutiny and while some things may seem silly to some fans, other fans and even the NFL may see certain things as real issues for the golden boy’s legacy.
10 Lack Of Sportsmanship
Starting off with a relatively smaller issue, the NFL may want fans to forget about certain moments in which Brady didn’t act in the most sportsmanlike way. Suffering a dramatic loss to the Eagles, Brady wasn’t in the mood to shake hands with their quarterback Nick Foles.
It’s a small thing, and that kind of disappointment is understandable, but it could be considered a moment of weakness from someone who should hold themselves to a higher standard. Some defend the action saying that a loss like that is worthy of an immediate and serious reflection on the game.
9 His Friendship With Trump
Ignoring all politics, even before he was a president, Donald Trump was a rather polarizing figure. With everything that’s happened over the years, the NFL would likely prefer most fans to forget that Brady considered himself a friend of Trump for quite some time.
They even had a bit of a dramatic moment when Brady didn’t end up paying a visit to the White House for personal reasons, something that only made their prior friendship more public. Keeping Brady away from controversy is important even though it constantly finds him.
8 The Tuck Rule Game
A lot of people may have forgotten about the strange instance that has now widely become known as the Tuck Rule Game. It was the Patriots versus the Raiders in a tight game, and the mess began when Brady was tackled.
Raiders fans assumed the tackle resulted in a fumble, something that worked out for the team, but it was overruled as an incomplete pass due to Brady tucking the ball into his chest. The whole thing was a mess, but the Patriots wound up winning and going on to become legendary under Brady.
7 The Family Controversy
How a man or woman parent their children is of absolutely no consequence to someone else, and unfortunately from celebrities, their lives are open for the world to see. The public took serious issue with the way Brady showed affection to his family and children by kissing them on the lips.
There are a lot of people who simply see it as an affectionate way to express yourself to your family, and one that other people shouldn’t care about. Others think it’s plain weird. Regardless, the whole mess was a lot of unneeded attention on Brady.
6 The Unfortunate Massage Parlor Incident
This entire situation started with a simple television cameo from Tom Brady. He simply made an appearance walking out of a massage parlor, something that seems innocent enough to literally everyone who watched it.
Unfortunately, news outlets and Brady detractors were keen to compare his cameo to a real life situation in the NFL, and simply claimed that the entire thing was for Brady to make fun of Robert Kraft. The NFL would probably like everyone to forget about every aspect of that particular bit of drama.
5 Having A Little Too Much Fun
Everyone deserves to party after they’ve won a Super Bowl, and Brady’s managed to win himself quite a few at this point. The thing is, the more celebrations that occur, the more moments of partying that people manage to capture.
Some view partying in general in a negative light, and probably wouldn’t take too kindly to Brady drinking and happily tossing his trophy from one boat to another while celebrating with his friends. Regardless of where anyone stands, the NFL likely wants people to forget that to maintain a squeaky clean image for Brady.
4 Spygate
The situation around Spygate is a weird one. It’s not a particularly big deal on the surface, but it was blown up into a huge controversy. For an example of how overblown it is, most consider it to be a blemish on Tom Brady’s career, despite Brady not having anything to do with it, at least not directly.
The real issue came from the team and management who were wrongly videotaping coaches signals. The moment of rule-bending was enough to get the team strapped with huge fines and face some serious punishment, and unfortunately, Brady’s name was attached to the team at the time.
3 That Combine Photo
A lot of NFL fans that have followed the career of Tom Brady might be aware of his relatively embarrassing combine photo from the early stages of his NFL career. Put simply, Brady doesn’t look to be in incredible shape in the photo, making it kind of funny.
Since Brady has become an uber successful quarterback, it’s important that people take him seriously as he represents the NFL. Some people love spreading the photo because it’s a funny moment to humanize an athletic star, but the NFL may feel differently.
2 The Fan Reactions
The issue certainly isn’t the fan reaction to Brady on the field, because he gets some of the most thunderous reactions in NFL history. The real issue is the way that the fans react to other quarterbacks when compared to Brady.
Since Brady fans can be pretty diehard, a lot of them tend to avoid giving credit to the other talented quarterbacks that shared the league with him. Proof of that is the shocking number of people who can’t name the two relatively high-profile quarterbacks he lost to in the Super Bowl.
1 Deflategate
Of every Brady controversy, Deflategate has to be the most iconic. It’s exactly what it sounds like, Brady was accused of being a part of ensuring the footballs used for play in the 2014 AFC Championship game were deflated.
The whole thing saw Brady getting suspended and his team facing massive penalties. The whole situation changed a lot about the NFL, and it certainly didn’t help that Brady went on to win the Super Bowl. It’s another messy and complicated situation everyone would like to try to forget about.