Tom Brady Argues Against $16,444 Tripping Fine Because He Missed His Target

• Tom Brady was fined $16,444 for attempting to trip Cowboys safety Malik Hooker in their playoff game.
• On his podcast “Let’s Go!” Brady said he appealed the fine on grounds that he didn’t actually make contact with Hooker.
• “I don’t know how you can get fined for something that didn’t even happen,” Brady said. “Are they fining an intention?”

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round, Tom Brady wound up losing more than a shot at his eighth Super Bowl ring.

A week after the game, Brady was fined $16,444 by the NFL, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, for his attempted trip of Cowboys safety Malik Hooker.

The play in question certainly does not look great for Brady. After Hooker recovered a fumble by wide receiver Chris Godwin, Brady first makes an attempt to throw a shoulder into Hooker. When he missed, Brady chases the play from behind and goes in with a soccer-style leg tackle. He missed, but Hooker was taken down shortly after.

—Andre’ Jackson (@therealdre_jack) January 21, 2023

Isolating just the moment of Brady’s slide, things look particularly bad.

—Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 21, 2023

On his podcast “Let’s Go!” Brady addressed the play and the fine.

“It’s already been appealed, so I’m not sure I can say anything in advance of my appeal decision, but we’ll see what happens after I appeal it,” Brady said.

But despite saying that he wanted to avoid adding to the conversation until matters were settled, Brady continued.

“I’m a little disappointed though,” he said.

Brady’s argument was a simple one: He didn’t actually trip Hooker, so what does it matter than he tried to trip him?

“I tried to tackle him with my right shoulder and I missed him,” Brady said. “I wasn’t going to stick my arm out, so I was trying to get him on the ground, and I missed him completely. I didn’t even hit him. I tried to trip him, but I didn’t.”

Brady continued:

“I don’t know how you can get fined for something that didn’t even happen. Are they fining an intention? It’s like targeting and you miss the person you hit, and they still call it targeting. I’ve got to figure out and understand why this is the case. This is why I wish our NFLPA was stronger.”

Admitting that you attempted to trip an opposing player, while you are appealing a fine you received for attempting to trip an opposing player, doesn’t seem like an ironclad defense to mount.

Thankfully for Brady, if the fine does wind up standing, he should have no problem covering the cost.