Tom Brady has a seven-time Super Bowl champion’s résumé, a FOX microphone, and a league-imposed muzzle. Somehow, the muzzle keeps slipping off.
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That is why Stephen A. Smith blew a gasket on The Stephen A. Smith Show on SiriusXM. He went off after no fine for Brady showed up on the NFL’s weekly list, a week after the FOX analyst spent the Packers-Lions game picking apart the officials.
“I get so freaking sick of this BS. We’re trying to act like certain people are not different. They are. He’s a seven-time champion who’s put in the booth to dissect and analyze the game. He can’t sit up there and say, “What is that? Are you kidding me? What kind of call is that?” Why should the rules be any different for him?” Smith said.
At Ford Field on October 25, the Lions beat the Packers 20-17, and Green Bay was flagged eight times for 81 yards. The flag that lit Brady up came with 2:45 left.
Packers defensive tackle Karl Brooks was hit for roughing the passer on Lions quarterback Jared Goff, which tacked 15 yards onto an 18-yard catch by tight end Sam LaPorta. Even play-by-play voice Kevin Burkhardt had noted how odd the flags looked, and Brady was not having it.
“My goodness. What is that? There’s no way. Brooks on the tackle. Guy makes a great play. It’s a bang-bang play. He rolls off his body. It’s a great throw by Goff. That’s definitely not roughing the passer.”
FOX rules analyst Dean Blandino, the NFL’s former head of officials, agreed. Brady also questioned an earlier unnecessary roughness call on Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes, saying that contact is allowed 99 out of 100 times.
It is a bigger deal than usual because Brady is also a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. That brings the so-called “Brady Rules,” which limit how far he can go criticizing officials on air. A first violation could reportedly cost him $500,000.
Yet the NFL’s weekly fine list on Saturday had no mention of Brady, and FOX declined to comment. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio even hinted we may never know. The league has also been lenient before, with spokesperson Brian McCarthy drawing the line in 2024.
“The concern would be if Tom was egregiously critical of officiating or called into question the integrity of an official or the crew.”
Not everyone escaped. Packers safety Xavier McKinney confirmed the league fined him after he ripped the crew, and Alex Moore’s crew was shifted off a primetime game. McKinney had not held back.
“It’s annoying even talking about it because these are critical drives throughout the game, and we might have a drive where we’re getting stops, but you’re calling penalties, and it’s like, this is not a penalty.”
Smith asked who was trying to make the rules different for Brady and whether Brady deserves his ownership stake or his huge salary for calling games. Smith insisted Brady knows football backwards and forwards and should speak up when he sees a missed call.
“Do you want him to be in the booth and be mute? Do you want him to be in the booth and be timid and shy? I want his expertise. I want his brilliance.”
Smith also loved that a quarterback was going off about a roughing flag that protected quarterbacks. He said it backs up Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, who have complained about a game protecting offensive players at the expense of defensive stars.
The numbers back some of that frustration. Green Bay has now been flagged for roughing the passer eight times this season alone, while quarterback Jordan Love has yet to draw one.
Next up, Brady returns to Foxborough on Sunday to call the Packers-Patriots, his first game at Gillette Stadium as an announcer. Will he bite his tongue this time? Don’t bet on a silent booth.