Tom Brady vs Antonio Brown beef: Infamous feud between ex-Buccaneers teammates explored

Tom Brady and Antonio Brown may have combined on the NFL field and enjoyed tremendous success, but their relationship off the field has decidedly turned sour.

The feud as it exists today, in public at least, is derived from the personal comments Antonio Brown has made about Tom Brady. The former quarterback has never responded to that, so publicly there is not much from his side in adding fuel to the fire.

However, the wide receiver has revealed the reason for his recurring potshots at his former teammate. Brady, as usual, has not responded to that. Here's a lowdown of where things stand at the moment.

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Did Gisele Bundchen spur feud between former Super Bowl winners?

The feud started coming out into the open, especially when Antonio Brown went after Tom Brady's relationship with his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen.

While the quarterback was undergoing a divorce with Bundchen, Brown posted some demeaning photos of her. Those included posting a picture of Brown embracing her and one doctored photo where Bundchen appeared frontally nude. We are choosing not to disclose those tweets here out of an abundance of respect for Bundchen.

That created the impression that Bundchen was responsible for the feud between Brown and Brady, who won the Super Bowl together and seemed to have a great working relationship. However, there's no indication that she has involved in any way in the beef between the two players. Instead, it seems more likely that Brown's issues with Brady made him use Bundchen as a cudgel to get back at the quarterback.

So, what is the real reason for the feud between the former teammates? Based on all the available evidence, the ill-will between the two players exists because Brady did not come to the defense of Brown when he quit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. NFL fans will remember that Brown walked out mid-game against the New York Jets.

The wide receiver was immediately let go by the team, with coach Bruce Arians confirming as much after the game. No Buccaneers player went against their coach by backing the pariah wide receiver. That, of course, included Tom Brady, the quarterback who was singularly responsible for bringing Brown to Tampa.

Antonio Brown was already in the last chance salon when he was picked up by the Buccaneers. A lot of that had to do with his previous issues while playing in the NFL. Brady, though, needed an elite core of receivers as he chased his first Super Bowl away from the New England Patriots. He was willing to overlook the wide receiver's transgressions to win on the field, and together they did win the Super Bowl.

However, that decision came back to bite Tom Brady. After he refused to publicly support his former receiver following his cut, Brown took singular aim at the quarterback. He has since explained that he felt pressured by Brady to accept a lower deal that was being offered to others in the Super Bowl-winning team. The retired quarterback has not commented on that, though.

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Is the relationship between Tom Brady and Antonio Brown fixed?

The relationship between Tom Brady and Antonio Brown remains cool based on the latest reports.

There was a hint of mea culpa by the controversial wide receiver when he posted about understanding teamwork now that he has ventured into ownership. He said that he was beginning to realize that the team trumps an individual; something he did not appreciate while he was playing.

However, there has been no direct apology from Brown despite fans imploring him to do so. It's unknown if Brown has the requisite contrition or feels the need to apologize to Brady in any way.