TAMPA, FLORIDA – JANUARY 16: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warms up prior to a game against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
If Tom Brady thought the NFL would just let him walk scot free because his team was eliminated, he was dead wrong.
During the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, cameras caught Brady going for a slide tackle on a Cowboys player following a turnover.
If he can't win, he's going to be dirty.https://t.co/JZd6CvTUaT— TPS (@TotalProSports) January 17, 2023
Brady’s actions immediately went viral, and it wasn’t long before many NFL fans were calling him out for the questionable maneuver.
The league apparently caught wind of it and they weren’t fans either. Today, it was announced that the NFL had fined Tom Brady $16,444 for “unnecessary roughness for trying to trip Cowboys S Malik Hooker.”
#Bucs
QB Tom Brady was fined $16,444 for unnecessary roughness for trying to trip #Cowboys S Malik Hooker on Monday night and C Ryan Jensen was fined $8,333.33 for unnecessary roughness on the same play.— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2023
Brady’s Bucs would go on to lose the game, 31-14, ending the franchise’s hopes of winning a third Super Bowl.
Many are expecting that game to be the last for Tom in a Buccaneers uniform. And who knows? Maybe it’ll be his last in the NFL for good?
While the fine may be a drop in the bucket for Brady, you’d have to wonder if he would even bother paying it off if he didn’t plan on returning to the NFL for a 24th season.