Tom Brady Fined $11K For Kicking Falcons Player—He’ll Make That In About An Hour

Topline

Seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady has been fined $11,139 by the NFL for apparently kicking Atlanta Falcons lineman Grady Jarrett during a game Sunday, according to multiple reports, which will mostly serve as a symbolic—rather than financial—penalty for the top-earning NFL player.

Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reacts after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons at … [+] Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 5, 2021, in Atlanta.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Key Facts

Brady lunged his right leg out as Jarrett took him down for a sack in the third quarter of the Buccaneers’ win over the Falcons on Sunday, but Jarrett appeared unbothered by the action.

The sack did not count, as Jarrett was called for a roughing the passer penalty for “unnecessarily throwing” Brady to the ground—a call that has been widely criticized.

Brady placed ninth on Forbes‘ 2022 list of highest-paid athletes, with yearly earnings of $83.9 million between his contract and off-the-field endorsements.

Big Number

70. That’s about how many minutes it takes Brady to make $11,139, based on Forbes’ estimate of his earnings.

Surprising Fact

A massive chunk of Brady’s earnings–$52 million–comes from off-the-field ventures. Among those are a television and film production company called 199 Productions (a reference to his selection as the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft), his TB12 lifestyle brand and the NFT company Autograph, which raised $170 million in funding earlier this year.

Key Background

Brady, widely considered the most accomplished football player of all time, has a short but notable disciplinary history when it comes to breaking NFL rules. His most severe punishment came in 2016, when he was suspended for the first four games of the season after the NFL concluded he had was involved in the “Deflategate” scandal, which involved the New England Patriots—of which Brady was quarterback at the time—deliberately deflating footballs during the 2014 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts. Footballs with lower air pressure are generally easier to throw and catch. Brady was also fined $10,000 in 2013 for kicking his leg into the groin of Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed.

Tangent

Rumors have swirled in recent days about the status of Brady’s marriage to Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, after reports surfaced that the two are living separately and have hired divorce attorneys.