Dave Portnoy mocks Tom Brady with FTX jab as 7x Super Bowl champ announces return for Saudi flag football tournament

Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady will be returning to the football field for the first time since retirement to participate in a flag football event in Saudi Arabia in March.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner will be teaming up with current and former NFL stars for the popular sports set for the Olympics debut in 2028. However, Brady's association with the Saudi Arabia-backed event has drawn criticism from some sections on social media.

Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy threw shade at the New England Patriots legends association, sharing a video of Brady signing the contract alongside Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia.

"Before people bash Tom Brady for selling his soul let me ask you how much money did you lost when FTX went boom?"

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Portnoy mentioned FTX in his jibe as the cryptocurrency exchange went backrupt in November 2022.

“I’ve always admired the power of flag football, the fastest-growing sport in the world, and how it connects fans of all ages,” Brady said. “I want to help continue the global movement and momentum that our game is having.”

Apart from Brady, Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Myles Garrett and Rob Gronkowski are also some of the high-profile names participating in the tournament.

Dave Portnoy lashes out at refree for controversial call during Bengals - Jaguars clash

The Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy is never shy of voicing his opinion on social media and he made his feelings known after a controversial call on Travis Hunter during the Cincinnati Bengals' 31-27 win over Jacksonville Jaguars.

"Let’s start by saying this, yes, I bet the Jags, yes, this was fourth-and-5 in the game, you call this pass interference with the game on the line? This is a ridiculous call, you can’t have refs determining a game," Portnoy said.

“This is absolutely insane. He looks back, deflects the ball away, he’s playing pattycake with his other hand. It’s how you teach it, this is how you teach it! Absolutely perfect defense from Travis Hunter, you throw a flag on fourth-and-5, this is disgusting, absolutely disgusting football!”

The controversial call led to the Jaguars being slapped with a 25-yard penalty with the Bengals taking advantage to clinch the game.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash