Dave Portnoy blasts ‘cringey’ Tom Brady’s ‘lame’ post-NFL career: ‘Downfall of an icon’
Dave Portnoy called out Tom Brady for being “cringey” and “lame” in a scathing “Wake Up Barstool” rant.
The Barstool Sports creator told listeners on Monday that “what is happening with Tom Brady post-retirement is one of the great downfalls of an icon.”
He specifically mentioned the ex-NFL player, 48, recently “chopping it up with Logan Paul,” referencing Brady’s staged feud with the WWE wrestler at Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Fest in New York City.
Not only did Brady make headlines for slapping the 31-year-old onstage at the Javits Center, but he also gave Paul the bird in a video from the FIFA World Cup Final 2026.
“[This is] a legacy that is being lame-ified,” Portnoy said of the viral moments. “You don’t want to see him mixed up in lowbrow TikTok flag football leagues in Saudi Arabia or whatever it is. Everything about him is cringey right now to me.”
He agreed with Brandon Walker likening Brady to Haliey Welch, the “Hawk Tuah” girl who went viral in 2024.
Walker explained, “He has become somebody who looks like he is trying to get to a spotlight, trying to get attention … and Tom Brady shouldn’t have to do things designed for your entertainment.”
Portnoy specifically hit out at Brady’s pal Michael Rubin, alleging that the Fanatics CEO can “lame-ify the coolest guys in the world.”
Noting that the former quarterback is the same “level star” as Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi, Wayne Gretzky and David Beckham, Portnoy insisted Brady “should be above the fray — not Michael Rubin’s puppet.”
Portnoy, similarly, tweeted on Sunday, “Can somebody please shake Tom Brady and tell him to get as far away from Michael Rubin as possible and stop lame-ifying his entire legacy.”
He also wrote that he is “glad” he doesn’t have to “pretend this isn’t lame” since Brady has distanced himself from the New England Patriots, a team Portnoy is a diehard fan of.
Brady’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The athlete, who played for the NFL between 2000 and 2022, posted about his weekend antics at Fanatics Fest via Instagram.
“Had to rise from the dead (retirement 😭) for @fanatics games,” he wrote.
Brady also shared a Rubin-filled slideshow documenting his time at the FIFA World Cup 2026, which he dubbed “one of the greatest month long sporting events.”
The seven-time Super Bowl winner gushed, “To everyone who made this month what it was, friends, family, and the athletes from around the world who stepped in the arena… these are the memories we’ll be talking about for the rest of our lives and I’m glad I made them with you.”
