Tom Brady’s role in the “ Deflategate ” controversy was the focal point of one of the episodes of the recently released HBO show “The Dynasty,” which focused on the saga of the New England Patriots dynasty. Brady was embarrassed when he was accused of cheating by playing with under-inflated footballs. A former Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammate spilled the beans on another possible scandal involving Brady.
Tom Brady accused of bribing players
Per a transcription by Joe Buccs Fan of former offensive guard Ali Marpet’s comments on the Wam Bam podcast. Marpet alleged Brady paid players for hitting certain benchmarks on the field. Joe Bucs Fan called Brady’s actions a “bribe” when he offered cash to teammates for successful plays:
“[Brady] took our starting offensive line to the side and he’s like, ‘Hey, if you guys can get a screen to go for more than 15 yards, I will give you $1,000 cash each,’” Marpet said.“‘That is for you guys; so every time that we get that, I will be happy to make that payment,’” Marpet said Brady told the starting linemen.
“Are you kidding me? Like a little extra juice, so those kinds of things [Tom did to motivate].”
Marpet said Brady knew how players are “wired” and tried to get the most out of his teammates by sweetening the pot. However, the NFL does not allow sweetening the pot like that by players, coaches, etc.
Did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheat like the New Orleans Saints did?
Per Mike Florio with NBC Sports, Brady paying players for successful screen passes is against league rules. That’s how former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton earned his suspension:
“The issue of offering players off-the-books incentives became the focal point of the Saints bounty scandal of 2012. Programs like this technically run afoul of NFL’s rules, even when they aren’t premised on potentially incapacitating opponents.”
Brady probably won’t be punished like Sean Payton was
In other words, Brady technically cheated. Florio doesn’t think the league will punish the Buccaneers or Brady.
“It’s unlikely the NFL will do anything about it. It’s also unlikely that similar incentives aren’t commonly employed on a wink-nod basis within NFL locker rooms.”
But should they? This incident would show a pattern of cheating behavior by Brady, and it could affect his legacy. Brady won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers.
Did he offer impermissible incentives to do so? Do fans care like they would if it were Bill Belichick and the Patriots?
Brady has hinted he wants to return to the field this season. One wouldn’t see the league extending Brady the same favor it did for the 2012 season.
More must-reads: