Tom Brady is the most decorated player in NFL history, having won more Lombardi Trophies than any franchise. The San Mateo, California native built the league’s greatest dynasty with the New England Patriots.
If there was any doubt about Brady’s impact, the legendary quarterback won another Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at age 43.
This accomplishment might be even more impressive, considering that the Buccaneers were riding a twelve-year playoff drought before Tom signed with them in free agency.
Since his retirement two years ago, Brady has continued being very active in the football world. Most notably, the future Hall of Famer is a lead commentator for the NFL on Fox as well as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Tom, however, is planning on returning to the field, but in this case, it’s for a different sport. While fans will surely be excited by the all-time great quarterbacks return to athletic competition, the business partner Brady is engaging with will definitey draw some push back.
According to the Associated Press, Tom Brady will play in a three-team flag football tournament in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia next year.
The event will feature the three-time MVP alongside several former and current NFL stars such as Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, and Rob Gronkowski. The head coaches for this event will be Pete Carroll, Sean Payton, and Kyle Shanahan.
This tournament is meant to promote the sport of flag football, which will be making its Olympic debut in the 2028 Summer Games hosted by the United States. The event will take place on March 21, 2026, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
For the competition, Brady is partnering with Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, a government department responsible for regulating the country’s entertainment industry.
Tom will promote the event, which will be televised on Fox Sports. Actor and comedian Kevin Hart will serve as a host. In a recent interview, Brady expressed his excitement for this tournament, detailing why he couldn’t resist participating in it.
“It’s a multi-year commitment. 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.”
Tom Brady’s decision will draw a lot of criticism
For years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to use its wealth fund to participate in more and more sporting events. Whether it’s the LIV Golf League, the Saudi Pro League, or the country’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup, there is clearly a more coordinated effort by this nation to be more prominent in the sporting world.
At the same time, the Saudi Arabian regime has engaged in several very controversial practices against its own citizens as well as other nations.
Since all of these sporting projects are directly tied to the state, accusations have arisen that the country is attempting to “sportswash” its imageto improve its global reputation.
Nevertheless, athletes are flocking to do business with this nation because of the extraordinarily high sums of money being dished out to players in their respective leagues. As of now, it’s unclear the amount that Brady or any of the other athletes involved will receive for playing in this tournament.
On a separate note, plenty of NFL athletes have expressed interest in participating in flag football at the 2028 Olympics. The United States already has national teams for flag football on the men’s and women’s sides, so it will be interesting to see how those squads are decided leading up to the games.
Nevertheless, considering Tom Brady’s net worth of approximately $300 million, this is a controversial decision on his part. Of course, the legendary quarterback has the freedom to participate in this tournament, but just because he can doesn’t necessarily mean he should or is exempt from criticism.