Tom Brady never met a payday he didn’t like, and the latest one could be one of the most lucrative of his life. Brady is teaming up with the Saudi General Entertainment Authority to bring a flag football tournament to the nation, starring some of the biggest current, and retired stars in the game.
Brady will be joined by former teammate Rob Gronkowski, as well as current NFL stars Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Maxx Crosby, and Maxx Crosby — with more to be named later. The coaches of the three-team tournament will be Pete Carroll of the Radiers, Sean Payton of the Broncos, and Kyle Shanahan from the 49ers. Comedian Kevin Hart will host the event, which is scheduled to take place in 2026.
It’s being billed as an opportunity to showcase flag football ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games, which is a completely made up justification. Nobody in Saudi Arabia cares about the United States’ brand of football, and as it stands Saudi Arabia won’t even field a team in the 2028 games. This is all back to the one magic word: Sportswashing.
Sportswashing is a form of reputation laundering in which countries with horrible human rights records host entertainment and sporting events. These are routinely run at a loss, beause the goal isn’t to make money or entertain, but rather as a means to portray their country in a positive light. The end-game is to make citzens of other countries doubt, or ignore reports of atrocities by intentionally broadcasting an unrealistic, idealized view of the host nation. This is not possible unless there are willing, high-profile participants to help execute this goal. Ostensibly with Brady and the other NFL stars marketing, and running this event in Saudi Arabia they’re not just hosting an event, but giving a stamp of approval to the host country.
Saudia Arabia is most active in the practice of sportswashing, claiming they simply want to offer events for its citizens — and that boycotting the nation by the international community is unfair. Of course, this conveniently ignores the fact that Saudi Arabia ranked 155th in the human freedom index published in 2024, largely due to the nation’s lack of democracy, income inequality, forced evictions of marginalized groups. as well as a litany of human rights violations which include the death penalty for homosexuality, and lengthy prison sentences for anyone who speaks out against the government.
“Obviously, we’re getting off to a good start. The first year will be kind of where everyone’s attention and energy is at. It’s the first time we’ve ever done something like this, but all the players that I’ve talked to are excited about playing. Obviously, with the Olympics coming up in 2028, I think it’s all the NFL players’ first exposure to it, and I didn’t want to miss out on being a part of it.”
It’s nice Brady is so excited to be a part of hosting a glamor flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia for a boatload of money. Let’s just remember another quote about the host nation, this time from Human Rights Watch.
Saudi authorities continued their campaign to crack down on peaceful social media activity. On May 29, 2024, Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism tribunal, the Specialized Criminal Court, convicted Asaad al-Ghamdi, 47, a Saudi teacher, of several criminal offenses related solely to his peaceful expression online. He is the brother of Mohammed al-Ghamdi, a retired Saudi teacher, who was sentenced to death in July 2023 based solely on his posts on X and YouTube activity.
Rights organizations urged allies of Saudi Arabia to send observers to the trial hearings of Salma al-Shehab and Nourah al-Qahtani, sentenced to 34 and 45 years respectively based solely on their peaceful social media activity. Al-Shehab’s posts on X related to support for women’s rights.
With the exception of Kevin Hart, everyone attached to this event is involved in the NFL in one way or another. This is the same league whose “Inspire Change” initiative asks that players, coaches, and owners become ambassadors to break down discrimination and racism — the very thing Brady and others are now supporting by holding this event.
Everyone has a price — especially when your morals can be bought.