Tom Brady is going to have go fork over more than 35% of his playoff paycheck after being fined by the NFL for an illegal tackle that he attempted during the Buccaneers' 31-14 loss to the Cowboys in the wild-card round on Monday.
According to NFL.com, Brady has been fined a total of $16,444 for trying to slide-tackle Malik Hooker during the third quarter of Tampa Bay's loss. Although Brady got a huge paycheck each week during the regular season, every player on a division champion makes the same amount in the first round. For making the wild-card round, each player gets a check for $46,500, which means Brady will be losing 35.4% of his pay to the fine.
The illegal play took place after Chris Godwin fumbled in the third quarter. Hooker recovered the ball for the Cowboys and as he was returning it, Brady attempted to slide-tackle the Cowboys safety.
— Melo Trimble (@MeloTrimbleStan) January 17, 2023
Although the fumble didn't end up counting -- because the officiating crew would later rule that Godwin was down before he lost the ball -- Brady's fine is very real. Bucs center Ryan Jensen was also fined $8,333 after he got flagged for unnecessary roughness on the same play.
As for Brady, if he was a first-time offender, he would have only been fined $11,139, but this was the second time this season that he's been punished by the NFL. Back in Week 5, Brady was also hit with a fine for attempting to kick Falcons pass rusher Grady Jarrett.
Overall, this marks the third time in Brady's career that he's been fined. He was also docked $10,000 by the league for kicking Ed Reed during the AFC Championship Game back in January 2013 (You can see a clip of that play by clicking here).
For Brady, the fine came in what very well might be the final game he ever played in for the Buccaneers. Several of his teammates reportedly said this week that they don't expect him to return to Tampa Bay and one of his close friends, Julian Edelman, also seems pretty confident that the seven-time Super Bowl winner won't be with the Bucs in 2023.
