Sam Darnold had no interest in wishing Tom Brady a happy birthday.
It’s not because the New York Jets quarterback has anything against his New England Patriots counterpart, who just so happens to be the most accomplished player in NFL history. The second-year signal-caller simply doesn’t want to concede anything amid his team’s attempt to end New England’s dominance.
Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson revealed in a piece published Wednesday that Darnold had been asked during a commercial shoot in July in Los Angeles to wish Brady a happy birthday ahead of the Patriots QB turning 42 this past Saturday. Darnold, 22, wasn’t too high on the request, which several other NFL players willingly accepted, because of what it stood for in the spirit of competition.
“That’s just it, man — knowing what I’ve got to do,” Darnold said this week, according to Robinson, when asked about the moment. “I’m going to get every competitive edge I can, because he’s going to do the same thing. He’s the ultimate competitor. He’s exactly where I want to be when I’m his age. To chase that, I can’t be giving him anything.”
Darnold, the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, is coming off a fairly strong rookie season with New York and could prove instrumental in turning around the Jets’ fortunes after a three-year stretch in which they went 14-34. As such, he’s not willing to give Brady an inch out of fear the six-time Super Bowl champion will take a mile.
“For sure (that would have been giving Brady something),” Darnold told Robinson. “If I see him after a game, I’ll tell him good game and all that stuff. But I don’t want to give him anything. Especially to him. No.”
We’re willing to bet Brady won’t be fazed by the B-Day snub.
