The “No Brady, No Banner” movement actually was going to happen.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told Sky Sports ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers that his team wouldn’t have raised its Super Bowl XLIX banner at Gillette Stadium had Tom Brady been suspended. Instead, the Patriots would have unveiled a banner commemorating the quarterback’s three Super Bowl MVPs.
“I’m going to give you a little secret,” Kraft said, per the Boston Herald. “So if you look up there, you’ll see our Super Bowl banners, ’01, ’03, ’04 and that fourth banner. If Brady weren’t playing, that would have been his shirt with Super Bowl MVP three times. We wouldn’t have unveiled our 2014 banner.”
But with Brady’s four-game suspension vacated in federal court, the Patriots are free to show off their newest prize. And the fans in attendance still will see the banner that won’t be unveiled.
“We have a little surprise for you, you’ll see when you’re here (tonight),” Kraft said. “And when you go out the door, every fan in this place is will get a banner and will get the banner that would have been if he wasn’t playing. You get two gifts.”
UPDATE (6:25 p.m. ET): Here is the would-be banner:
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@melissastark
