Tom Brady's remarks on the controversial ejection of Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch could have landed him in hot water with the NFL, but instead the commentator avoided the league's wrath.
Brady was part of the broadcast crew for Detroit's game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and shared some criticism after Branch was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit on wide receiver Bo Melton. Officials on the field flagged the hit for unnecessary roughness, but the league offices in New York instructed the officials to eject Branch from the game.
Brady disagreed, saying there was no malicious intent with Branch's hit.
“I don’t love that [ejection] call at all,” Brady said. “Obviously it’s a penalty, but to me, there has to be serious intent in a game like this.”
The comments sparked concern for Brady, who is a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and prohibited from making certain comments on the air, including criticism of officials. But the NFL announced on Monday that there would be no punishment, saying Brady's comments were not "egregious."
"The concern would be if Tom was egregiously critical of officiating or called into question the integrity of an official or the crew," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement, via Sports Business Journal reporter Ben Fischer on X. "That did not occur in this instance."
