Four Super Bowl rings and two Super Bowl MVPs. A Hall of Fame career that helped turn the Pittsburgh Steelers into the NFL’s gold standard. With that kind of success, there should have been an eternal adoration between the Steelers and Terry Bradshaw. Instead, the former quarterback made it a point to let the world know of his disdain for the Steelers pretty much every chance he got.

However, more than 40 years after he retired from the NFL, his relationship with the city and the team has changed.

“Best thing I ever did was to go back and spend some time in the city. It was great to see the front office, the players, Ben Roethlisberger. We all, it was just great. The city and I, it’s good. It’s real good. I’m very comfortable going into Pittsburgh now.” Bradshaw said on the Sports Business Radio Podcast.

For years, Bradshaw had a rocky and bitter relationship with his only employer in the NFL. In fact, by the time Bradshaw was inducted into Canton as a First Ballot Hall of Famer, the Los Angeles Times reported that Bradshaw had almost no contact with his former teammates, his former coach Chuck Noll, or the Rooney family. The relationship between the player and the organisation at large was dead in the ditch.

The rift became apparent after Bradshaw developed an elbow injury during training camp in 1982. The Steelers reportedly did not authorize him to have surgery to treat the injury, for which he had to use the alias of a ‘Thomas Brady.’ Bradshaw was out for 14 games in 1983. What followed caused the former quarterback to ice out the Steelers completely.

Playing against the New York Jets in December that year, Bradshaw felt that same elbow pop when he threw a touchdown pass. He told the Steelers’ equipment manager immediately afterwards that he was “finished.” Further examination proved him right; this was the end of his NFL career. Bradshaw shockingly announced his retirement in 1984.

“I think Terry felt betrayed and rejected by the Steelers. He felt like he had really done something for them, and they had turned their backs on him. He ended up walking away bitter.” Mansfield said to the Times.

However, Bradshaw’s bad blood with the Steelers is rooted much deeper in their shared histories. Bradshaw claimed on the To The Point Home Service Podcast that in his 14-year career, the head coach never shook his hand. For someone who gave the team four Super Bowls, that will definitely create resentment.

“I’m glad I played for him, cause I couldn’t stand him, and I learned, I learned through the hurt and the pain of someone taking something from me that I absolutely love, which was quarterbacking the Steelers.”

When Bradshaw used to play, fans developed an extreme dislike for him when he was struggling in his initial years. The bitterness showed in their cheers whenever he got injured. One such instance was when he was ruled out of a game against the Houston Oilers in 1974. Another incident was when he appeared to have injured his chest in a Cincinnati Bengals game. He had only given Pittsburgh one winning season till then, a 11-2 finish in 1972.

Bradshaw made his first return to a Pittsburgh game in 2002 and brought his then-teenage daughters only after knowing fans would be welcoming him. In 2020, he told The Athletic that he still doesn’t know what people think of him in Pittsburgh, the city he just upped and left after his retirement. He infamously skipped the Steelers’ Hall of Honor ceremony in 2017.

However, with time, the ice seems to have thawed. Now a successful broadcaster for FOX, Bradshaw can look back at his Pittsburgh career without many flaws to point out.

“Everything that I have ever accomplished or been a part of since I retired has come because of playing for this team, not just playing but winning,” he told the team in 2016, when he dropped by Pittsburgh. “I don’t dodge it. I’m proud of it.

It takes time for a player to show love to a city after Bradshaw was treated the way he was. Perhaps in the future, when he is out and about in the city, Bradshaw might get to meet with a happy and respectful fan.