Tom Brady is widely considered the NFL's greatest ever player - but his relationship with the league itself was not always plain sailing.
Famously unfancied by all 32 teams before being drafted 199th overall by the New England Patriots in 2000, he went on to win seven Super Bowls before calling time on his career "for good" in February. He endured some controversy along the way, most notably being banned by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for four games in 2015 for his role in 'Deflategate'.
There were also times when he was outspoken about events in the NFL - including voicing his concerns with a "crazy" rule change ahead of what proved to be his final two seasons in the league.
Brady's frustrations came as the NFL announced a change to rules regarding jersey numbers introduced ahead of the 2021 season. By relaxing restrictions, the NFL allowed offensive skill position players and defensive backs to wear numbers 1-49 and 80-89 and linebackers to wear number 1-59 and 90-99.
This season, the NFL has gone a step further, with clubs voting to allow players not on either the offensive or defensive line to wear the number zero and letting kickers and punters use any number between 0-49 and 90-99.
When the first rule change came in, Brady spoke out on his Instagram story, writing: "Good luck trying to block the right people now! Going to make for a lot of bad football."
His belief was that defensive backs and linebackers being able to choose from the same set of numbers would cause confusion for quarterbacks and their blockers when scanning the defence. He later doubled down after experiencing the rules first hand, calling them "crazy" and ensuring his feelings were crystal clear to Roger Goodell and all those interested in the NFL.
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"The number rule is crazy," Brady told the Tampa Bay Times. "Literally, guys changed their numbers today. I'm playing two guys who had different numbers in the preseason.
"So, yeah you've got to watch film and know who you're studying but so do running backs. They've got to know who to block. So does the offensive line. So does the receivers who are adjusting their routes based on blitzes.
"So one guys has got a 6, one guy has 11, one guy has got a 9. And they change every play when you break your routes and get to your spot. It's going to be a very challenging thing. It's a good advantage for the defense, which that's what it is."
Whilst he is now retired, the new jersey rules may still impact Brady as he gets set to adjust to a role in the broadcast booth as a TV analyst for FOX Sports. Brady has agreed a 10-year, $375m deal to analyse games. He has shot down speculation he might reconsider that move and indicated he is ready to begin in 2024 after a break.
