Even though he’s not with the New England Patriots anymore, veteran quarterback Tom Brady remains up to date with the developments regarding his former squad. On Tuesday, Brady saluted Patriots owners Robert Kraft for his decision to offer his Super Bowl LI ring in the ALL IN Challenge, a fund drive initiated by Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin to address food insecurity. In a video message, Kraft said the Super Bowl LI ring is very special to him as the Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons. “We were down 28-3 (in the third quarter) and had 99.6 percent (odds) to lose.
And we came back and we won,” said Kraft. The team owner said he wanted to give something of extreme value in support of the country’s health care workers so he decided to donate the Super Bowl LI to support the cause.
Kraft offers Super Bowl LI ring
“So I thought it would be good to give this ring, our fifth Super Bowl win, because it showed how we came back,” he explained. Kraft said the winning bidder will be flown in via his own private plane to New England to personally receive the ring. The bidding started at $75,000 but as of Monday, the offer went up to $330,000. Kraft’s generosity attracted Brady’s attention, as he congratulated his former boss for his action. “Love this! Great job RKK,” Brady wrote on the Patriots’ Instagram account, per a report by Adam London of New England Sports Network (NESN), Brady himself also participated in the ALL IN Challenge, offering four tickets to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2020 home opener, a choice between a private dinner or a private postgame workout with Brady in the Tampa area, his first game-worn jersey and his game-worn Under Armour cleats.
Brady’s offer netted an $800,000 bid. Brady recently signed a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the offseason after a 20-year stint in New England. With Brady out, the Patriots are expected to name Jarrett Stidham as starter for next season.
Brady lauds Seymour for honor
Brady also congratulated former defensive lineman Richard Seymour for his selection to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
“Love Big Sey!!!! Congrats and one of the original Edgers!!!!” Brady commented on the Patriots’ official Instagram page. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick also lauded Seymour in a statement, praising him for his contributions to New England’s first three Super Bowl wins. Seymour was selected in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Patriots and played for New England for eight years before he was shipped to the Oakland Raiders.
In a report by NESN’s Zack Cox, Seymour said all is well between him and Belichick. According to Seymour, he understood that Belichick’s decision to trade him to Oakland was pure business and had nothing to do with any personal issue. “Personally, it was always a ton of respect,” said Seymour, adding that Belichick would always send Christmas gifts to the kids and little things like that.
