No, Tom Brady’s missing New England Patriots jersey has not turned up. And, no, he actually doesn’t think he’s deserving of the Super Bowl MVP award.
But the superstar quarterback, dressed in jeans and a gray sweater, picked up the personal hardware for a record fourth time Monday morning, sharing a smile and handshake with league Commissioner Roger Goodell, whose four-game suspension for Brady’s alleged role in Deflategate was enforced to start this season.
“We faced a lot of adversities over the course of the year and overcame it with mental toughness,” said Brady, about 11 hours after he threw for a Super Bowl record 466 yards in New England’s thrilling 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, the first time the game has ever gone into overtime.
As for Brady’s No. 12 jersey, which went missing even though he specifically recalled putting it in his bag and frantically searched the locker room for it Sunday night, he said: “It’s unfortunate because that’s a nice piece of memorabilia, so if it shows up on eBay somewhere, someone let me know to try to track that down.”
Brady would not reveal if he’d intended to give the jersey to his ill mother.
“Those are pretty special ones to keep,” Brady admitted, “but what can you do?”
As for his MVP trophy, Brady said almost immediately, “I think James White deserves it, be nice for him.”
The Patriots running back scored three touchdowns, including a 1-yard run that allowed New England to tie the game, and a 2-yard scamper that iced it in overtime. He also added a two-point conversion. Add in a Super Bowl record 14 receptions (for 110 yards) and 29 rushing yards, and Brady didn’t have to make much of a case for White.
“James White is like my oldest son,” said Brady beaming about the performance of his 25-year-old teammate.
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