Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is one of the biggest New England Patriots fans in the world, going as far as being arrested for handcuffing himself to the front desk of NFL HQ in New York City after the league handed down its ruling on the “Deflategate” scandal and suspended quarterback Tom Brady.
As devoted as Portnoy was to Brady during his time with the Pats, things have changed since the seven-time Super Bowl champion left the organization. In March, Portnoy theorized that Brady, now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, had turned on the Patriots after not becoming a part of the franchise’s ownership group.
On Monday, after Brady was spotted giving YouTuber-turned-fighter Logan Paul the middle finger at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, Portnoy went so far as to lament what the current Fox broadcaster has become since retiring from the NFL.
“At the Fanatics thing, he hits (Logan Paul),” Portnoy said on Wake Up Barstool, referencing Brady’s viral moment with Paul from Fanatics Fest from the weekend. “They’re at the World Cup game. He gives them the bird. Logan Paul. This to me is one of the great downfalls of an icon with Tom Brady and the way he is acting post-retirement.
“This to me, is one of the great downfalls of an icon with Tom Brady. The way he is acting post-retirement, it’s a legacy that is being lame-ifyed…” – @stoolpresidente https://t.co/aA5hDkfw1P pic.twitter.com/xfW3txmDoY
— Wake Up Barstool (@wakeupbarstool) July 20, 2026
“It’s a legacy that is being lamefied. I use that word; people are like, ‘what does that mean?’ It means he’s becoming very lame. And it’s a guy who very few athletes— Michael Jordan, Messi, uh, Beckham, Gretzky— like, these are like superstars that seem so above the fray that you don’t want to see them mixed up in all sorts of lowbrow TikTok flag football leagues in Saudi Arabia or whatever it is.
“Everything about him is cringey right now to me.”
With all the stars seemingly aligning for Brady to make his WWE debut at WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia in a bout against Paul, Portnoy asked one of the show’s hosts, Brandon Walker, a wrestling enthusiast, his opinion on the path Brady is taking.
“That’s who he has become. He has become somebody who is— who looks like he is trying to get to a spotlight. He’s trying to get attention,” Walker opined. “And Tom Brady shouldn’t have to get attention. He shouldn’t have to do things designed for your entertainment to get stuff like that…
“The slap was awful. It was a fake slap. And then the bird, like, you can tell he’s smiling when he’s giving the bird. He’s a bad actor.”
Portnoy blamed Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin for Brady’s current career arc, before bringing everything full-circle back to Brady turning his back on the Pats.
“Michael Rubin is in the middle of all of it. It’s Michael Rubin. He’ll, he’ll lamefy the coolest guys in the world,” Porntoy said.
“Rubin’s in that clip breaking up Logan Paul. The whole thing is disgusting. And I don’t want to say it, but I’ll say it. It all started when he started hating on the Patriots.”