Tom Brady may well be the greatest quarterback in NFL history, but he’s not always the greatest sport. That’s what Ryan Fitzpatrick, one of Brady’s longtime counterparts under center, indicated during a recent appearance on ESPN’s “America’s Caddie.” Years after Brady’s apparent aversion to certain postgame handshakes garnered national attention, Fitzpatrick said one of his favorite career memories is chasing down the seven-time Super Bowl champion to secure his own handshake.
“Beating Tom Brady … the first time, because after the first time he didn’t shake my hand,” Fitzpatrick said, per Insider. “I was on the Jets (to beat him again, four years later), and I had to chase him down on the 50-yard line … Apparently, he hates losing more than everybody else hates losing. When he does lose, I want a handshake.”
Fitzpatrick’s first alleged handshake snub came while he played for the Bills, who were one of Brady’s chief rivals at the time, seeing as the latter played for the Patriots. (Fitzpatrick, for what it’s worth, is reportedly also the QB whom Brady playfully dismissed when criticizing teams who didn’t pursue him in 2020 free agency.)
But he isn’t the first underdog QB to beat Brady and miss out on postgame respect from the greatest of all time.
Eagles legend Nick Foles, who upset the Patriots in Super Bowl LII while filling in for an injured Carson Wentz, famously failed to secure a handshake with Brady after his championship performance. Brady later downplayed their missed connection but snubbed Foles a second time in 2020, when Foles’ Bears upset the Buccaneers during the regular season. He also failed to meet with ex-Rams QB Jared Goff after Los Angeles upset Tampa Bay later in the 2020 campaign.
