Pranks, practical jokes, goofs, call them whatever you want. They could be returning to the New England Patriots’ locker room in 2017.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was known as quite the prankster early in his career, and he learned from the best in Drew Bledsoe. Brady, who will be 40 years old next season, has since matured, but that doesn’t mean he can’t revert to his old tricks.
“I gotta get back to that,” Brady said on “PFT Live” on Tuesday morning. “You know I’m so much older than everybody else now I’m always trying to build bridges with everybody so sometimes I don’t want them taking my pranking too seriously. But it is a fun part, and we’ve had a lot of jokesters over the years.”
Bledsoe and former Patriots left tackle Matt Light were among those jokesters. Brady recalled one of the times Bledsoe got him early in his NFL career.
“He got me with this purple ink that he put in my sock,” Brady said. “It looks like a clear ink or whatever and when it contacts your skin it turns this dark purple. So I worked for all of practice, by the time I got inside I had to peel my socks off my feet because I looked like Barney the dinosaur with how purple my feet were. So I’ve tried to use that a few times. I tried to use it on Dan Koppen once. I tried to use it on Matt Cassel.”
If Jimmy Garoppolo sticks around, he might want to hide his socks. Garoppolo’s locker name plate was changed to “Prince Aladdin” during the backup quarterback’s rookie season. Given Brady’s pranking history, we could know the culprit behind the switch.
There’s just something about NFL quarterbacks and pranks. Both Eli and Peyton Manning are known for their practical jokes, as well.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
