Terry Bradshaw knows a thing or four about winning. That’s because the current FOX Sports analyst, and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, hoisted the Lombardi Trophy four times during his Hall of Fame career, becoming the first signal-caller to win that many Super Bowls. So he has quite the resume when it comes to talking football.
Bradshaw may come across as lighthearted and playful when he’s analyzing games on FOX these days, but the former quarterback didn’t mince words when he was asked about his opinion on Tom Brady bolting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the New England Patriots. As we all know, Brady has six Super Bowl rings and is the perceived GOAT at the position, and his relationship with now former head coach Bill Belichick is widely the reason why — even if it was reportedly contentious at times. For that reason, Bradshaw doesn’t quite understand why No. 12 would possibly leave Foxborough.
In an interview with The Athletic, Terry Bradshaw basically slammed Brady’s decision, thinking his ego’s getting in the way of being in a position to win more titles alongside Belichick. Take a look below at what he had to say.
Per CBS Sports:
“Why in the world does he want to keep on playing at 43 other than to prove to New England he’s more important than Bill Belichick?” said Bradshaw, the first quarterback to win four Super Bowls and two Super Bowl MVP awards. “That’s the way I would look at it. Why the hell do you want to go to Tampa? The only thing I can think of is ego gets involved and you decide, ‘I’ll show ’em who’s more important.’
“I would never have done that, and I was shocked he was leaving. Shocked. I’ve never known a great quarterback — a great quarterback — at the end of his career, go to another team and do anything. Now, Brady’s different — nine Super Bowls, six victories. He’s a different cat. But the offense they ran in New England was perfect for him.”
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“I could never have played for anybody but Pittsburgh, all right?” Bradshaw said. “I was never going anywhere else, no matter what. If they traded me, I would have retired.”
Bradshaw’s point is pretty valid, because, well, the proof is in the pudding. At 42 years old, Tom Brady’s taking a huge risk by moving to a new team, where he’ll have to get acclimated to a new coach, locker room, fanbase, culture, etc. That’s no easy task, and, with limited time left to play in the NFL, doesn’t give him much time to try and figure it out.
That said, Brady is the best ever, and if there’s anybody who can change the entire luck of a franchise, it’s probably him. That doesn’t mean Bradshaw’s wrong here, though, because, even with the changes that the Patriots may look to be going through with life after Brady, who’s to say his best option to win another Super Bowl (or more) wasn’t alongside Belichick for a couple more seasons? Unfortunately, we’ll never know that answer.
