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During the NFC wild-card matchup between the Buccaneers and Cowboys, it looked as if Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady tripped Dallas safety Malik Hooker on a play where Dallas recovered a fumble during its 31-14 win. The NFL reviewed the tape and fined Brady $16,444 for an attempted sliding trip, and Brady is less than thrilled.
Brady discussed the fine on his “Let’s Go!” podcast, expressing his frustrations with the fine, but admitting that he did try to trip him.
“I’m a little disappointed, though, because I tried to tackle [Hooker] with my right shoulder and missed him,” the seven-time Super Bowl champion said. “And I wasn’t going to try to stick my arm out, so I was trying to get him on the ground. I missed him completely. I didn’t even hit him. I tried to trip him but I didn’t.”
The 45-year-old does not think he should be fined for something that never ending up taking place.
“So, I don’t know how you can get fined for something that didn’t even happen. Are they fining an intention? It’s like targeting and you miss the person you hit, and they still call it targeting. So, I got to figure out and understand why this is the case. This is why I wish our NFLPA was stronger.”
Here is a look at the play:
The play took place in the third quarter after Chris Godwin fumbled and Hooker recovered the ball. The fumble did not end up counting because Godwin was ruled down before the ball came out. So Brady was fined $16,444 for a trip that did not land, on a play involving a fumble that did not count. It would have been a lot cheaper and just as effective for Brady to follow the NFL rules.
The fine is equivalent to about 35% of Brady’s playoff paycheck, as each player making the wild-card round gets a check for $46,500.