After starting off in the year 2000 as a backup quarterback for the New England patriots, Tom Brady went on to become one of the biggest names in the world of the NFL. On a consistent basis, Tom churned out incredible numbers, season after season and ultimately ended up winning 7 championships.
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While he generally avoided getting involved in any kind of controversy throughout his 23 year long career, there is one incident which he might not look back to with a smile on his face.
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Troy Aikman wasn’t ready to side with Tom Brady on the ‘Deflate-Gate’ issue
Yes, we are referring to the infamous ‘deflate-gate’ scandal. Back in 2014, all hell broke loose when Tom Brady and the Patriots were accused of deliberately deflating the balls used in the AFC championship game against the Colts.
An investigation was ordered despite Tom denying all the accusations and in the end, he was slapped with a 4 game ban and the Patriots were fined $1 million. Commenting on the same incident, Troy Aikman had stated during an episode of ‘The Herd With Colin Cowherd’ that he just cannot believe that Tom was unaware of the fact that footballs were being deflated by his team to gain advantage over their opponents.
“It’s my understanding that Peyton Manning and Tom Brady got together several years back and they went to the NFL commissioner and were able to get a pass that each team now in the league gets to bring the balls the way they like them,” Aikman had stated.
“I agree that every quarterback has the football the way they like them but here’s the difference, once they go through inspection, the balls are either accepted or rejected, that’s the end of the story,” Aikman said, adding that he didn’t see any firm statement from the Patriots (at that time) that absolutely no air was let out of the ball in which case, it is impossible that Tom didn’t know what was going on.
“If balls were deflated, I will go to my grave saying that Tom Brady knew that the balls were then being deflated,” Aikman further claimed. In the end, Tom challenged the ban the NFL imposed on him but had to eventually miss out on 4 games in 2016.
Troy Aikman once called Tom Brady ‘the most unathletic’ quarterback
Tom Brady might have won 7 Super Bowl titles, but Troy never failed to take a shot at the quarterback for his lack of speed and mobility. Earlier this year, during an appearance on SI’s Podcast, Aikman had claimed that Brady is the most unathletic QB in the competition.
“I kid him about it, he’s the most unathletic quarterback in the game,” Aikman had stated. “I’m 56 years old, and I’m pretty confident I can outrun him in the 40-yard dash.” However, Aikman had gone on to accept that to be the greatest ever in the game, Brady simply doesn’t need to be the quickest runner.
“He’s the greatest to ever do it, but then also, coaches know, they see that, they recognize, this guy, you can’t keep him in it. You give him a chance in the fourth quarter, it’s gonna be a tough finish,” Aikman had added.
