Sports fans tuned into Netflix on Sunday night for the Roast of Tom Brady, a live event taking aim at the greatest quarterback of all-time. Hosted by Kevin Hart, the Netflix special featured a star-studded lineup of comedians, actors, and athletes – with each using their time at the podium to throw haymakers at the 7-time Super Bowl Champion.
No topic was off limits on Sunday night, as Brady was repeatedly subjected to brutal jokes about his personal and professional life.
Although roasts are widely known for the harsh jokes aimed at the guest of honor, there have certainly been some instances where a joke has come close to crossing a line. That appeared to be the case on Sunday night, at least as far as Brady was concerned.
When comedian Jeff Ross took his turn at the podium, part of his routine included a joke about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Ross, known as the “roast master” who pushes the boundaries with his jokes, recalled a moment between Brady, at the time a rookie, and Kraft. “I’m the best decision your organization has ever made,” Ross said quoting Brady. And then Ross delivered the punchline, saying Kraft responded by asking, ‘would you like a massage?’
The joke prompted Brady to approach Ross at the podium, where he told the comedian, “don’t say that sh*t again.”
Of course, the massage joke is a reference to the 2019 incident where Kraft was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution during a human trafficking and prostitution investigation involving a number of spas in the state of Florida. Kraft pled not guilty and the charges were ultimately dropped.
Although Ross’s joke certainly got to most attention, it was far from being the worst thing Brady heard on Sunday night. The GOAT endured nearly three hours of jokes about his failed marriage to supermodel Gisele Bündchen, his sexuality, accusations of plastic surgery, cheating, and more.
To close out the evening, Brady finally got his shot at the podium – where he returned fire at his former head coach Bill Belichick, teammates Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Randy Moss, and Drew Bledsoe, and several of the comedians on stage.
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Brady’s monologue was where he addressed the infamous deflategate controversy, an incident that resulted in Brady being suspended for four games of the 2015 season, the Patriots being issued a fine of $1 million, and two forfeited draft selections in 2016. NFL investigators accused Brady of ordering the deliberate deflation of footballs that were used in the Patriots’ 2014 AFC Championship victory over the Colts, a move that would provide Brady with a better grip on the ball and, in essence, an unfair competitive advantage.
Brady has largely avoided addressing the topic directly, but that certainly changed on Sunday night.
“But where’s Roger Goodell?” Brady said referencing the current NFL Commissioner. “Remember Deflategate? The NFL spent 20 million dollars and found that it was ‘more probable than not‘ that I was ‘generally aware‘ that someone may have deflated my footballs. You could’ve just given me the 20 million and I would’ve just told you I fu**ing did it.”
Given the fact that Brady said this at a Roast, it’s hard to say whether or not he was actually admitting to what the NFL accused him of. But as the old saying goes, there’s always some truth behind every joke.
