Aaron Rodgers Teases Tom Brady Over His Most Infamous Scandal
Football superstar Aaron Rodgers may be trying to deflect controversy away from himself for a change by throwing a quick dig at a scandal from seven years ago.
Rodgers has made headlines recently due to the backlash over his COVID-19 vaccination status. In November 2021, despite previously telling the press that he was "immunized," Rodgers came clean and said he was unvaccinated (the "immunized" comment was because he had been using alternative treatments to supposedly boost his immune system, he said on "The Pat McAfee Show," per ESPN). The NFL reported that the Green Bay Packers quarterback wanted the league to give him vaccination status based on alternative treatments, but when they refused, he was fined for breaking protocols for unvaccinated players.
Rodgers continues to court controversy, still speaking out against the treatment of unvaccinated players. In late December 2021, he appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" accused the NFL of creating a "two-class system" pitting vaccinated vs. unvaccinated players, and called science "propaganda" if people cannot question it, per USA Today.
With the 2022 Super Bowl quickly approaching and Rodgers' MVP status potentially at risk, it's perhaps not surprising that Rodgers might want to bring up an older controversy, unrelated to him, to throw some shade at a former player — especially if he's only joking.
Aaron Rodgers made a quick quip about Deflategate
Perhaps it was too easy a dig, and it was clearly all in good fun, but Aaron Rodgers made it for a laugh. During a recent interview with Sportsnet, Rodgers played a game called "Drone Jeopardy," in which he lobbed footballs at drones with monetary values and then answered football-based trivia questions, a la the actual game show. After host Cabbie explained the rules, Rodgers made a quick quip about the football he was handed, taking a jab at Tom Brady and his most infamous scandal.
"This is too firm for the Patriots," Rodgers said, with a brief look at the camera. He's obviously referencing the 2015 Deflategate scandal, when then-New England Patriots quarterback Brady was suspended without pay, per Vox, and the team fined for allegedly deflating their footballs in an AFC Championship game. (Under-inflated balls would be an advantage for the offensive team, as they are easier to catch and hold.)
Rodgers and Brady are close, according to Essentially Sports, and enjoy their on-field rivalry while being friendly IRL. And that on-field rivalry could continue — if both the Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win their upcoming Divisional Rounds, they could go up against each other in the NFC Championship.