Tom Brady has had his commitment levels questioned by a former NFL star after the legendary quarter-back skipped a team work-out to attend a wedding in New York.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Brady arrived in Pittsburgh alone on Saturday ahead of his side's clash against the Steelers on Sunday. Brady was present at the surprise wedding of his former New England Patriots boss Robert Kraft.
Patriots billionaire owner Kraft, 81, tied the knot with Dana Blumberg, 47, in a star-studded wedding, after the pair began dating three years ago. British musicians Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John both performed at the glamorous event.
Brady, 45, was among 250 guests and attended the wedding alone amid rumours he and his wife Gisele Bundchen are going to divorce. He was the only Bucs player at the wedding and arrived in Pittsburgh on Saturday evening via private jet - after the rest of his team arrived.
And Brady has now received backlash after missing a team walk-through earlier in the morning in Pittsburgh. Former New York Jets center Nick Mangold sarcastically implied Brady's teammates will have taken issue with his decision.
"Must be nice to skip Saturday morning meetings and team travel. I’m sure the locker room has no issue with this whatsoever," Marigold tweeted about Brady's absence from the travelling squad.
Marigold then shut down one user who claimed Brady had earned his choice to skip a team meeting. "You don’t earn not being part of the team for a party. That’s stupid," he replied.
NFL superstar Brady had announced his decision to retire and bring an end to his storied 23-year career earlier this year, only to make a shock U-turn 40 days later. He has established his status as the greatest quarter-back ever, winning seven Super Bowl rings.
But some key figures within the sport have claimed that Brady might already be regretting his decision to carry on playing aged 45 after the high of last year's epic Super Bowl triumph.
"I feel like he should have just retired after he won the Super Bowl (with Tampa Bay in 2021) that would have been a great time to walk away," NFL expert Bill Simmons recently said on the Slow News Day podcast.
"He goes away for 40 days after retiring and decides he wants to play again. I think he made an agreement with his wife to not play again. He's changed his appearance, he got really skinny. I also feel like he doesn't look like he has fun playing football - I have watched a million games from that guy, and there's a spirit that he had that he loves football.
"In recent weeks, I get the vibe that he's unsure if he should have came back. I don't think it ends well. You could tell me he's going to retire, win a Super Bowl, or start dating Julia Roberts. Name a scenario and I'd believe it."
