The New England Patriots pulled off an improbable victory against the Atlanta Falcons after trailing for most of the game. After mostly avoiding the Patriots and Tom Brady since the league handed down punishment for Deflategate, Goodell shook Tom Brady’s hand before the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy.
Roger Goodell had to shake Tom Brady’s hand after the Patriots won the Super Bowl
After the biggest comeback and the first overtime in Super Bowl history, Goodell had to face Brady.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Brady said in the week leading up to Super Bowl 51 that he wasn’t motivated by the Deflategate punishment or the reaction to the scandal, but rather by his teammates.
“I mean, I’m motivated by my teammates,” Brady said. “I said that after the (AFC Championship) Game. I think that they’re all the motivation that I need.”
Goodell also fielded a number of questions about his avoidance of the Patriots, and whether or not he’d spoken with Brady since the Deflategate scandal. He deflected them.
“We’re moving on from that,” Goodell said. “That’s part of our history.”
Prior to the Super Bowl, Brady hinted at the possibility that he might share his true feelings on Goodell and the way the league handled Deflategate.
“Maybe I’ll tell you after,” Brady said during an appearance on Boston’s WEEI. “But I don’t want to get into winning something before we’ve won it, because it’s going to be hard to win this thing.”
It was hard to win that thing. The Patriots trailed for most of the game and tied it up with under a minute remaining to play, sending the game to the first overtime in Super Bowl history. There was no way for Goodell to avoid interacting with Brady during the trophy presentation.
Roger Goodell booed while presenting trophy
See More:
