Tom Brady finally backs Patriots, Robert Kraft in Super Bowl 60 after backlash to attempted neutrality

The New England Patriots will attempt to win their seventh Super Bowl since 2000 on Sunday when they face the Seattle Seahawks, and after he attempted to remain neutral, the Patriots finally have the backing of the greatest player in franchise history: Tom Brady.

It's the first trip to the Super Bowl for the Patriots since Brady left the team in 2020, but the all-time great drew criticism from Patriots fans and former players over the past week after he attempted to take a neutral stance as he holds new roles as a broadcaster and part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Brady said "I don't have a dog in the fight," which rubbed some of his old teammates the wrong way, with Vince Wilfork and Asante Samuel among those who vocally called Brady out for "bullcrap," in Wilfork's words. 

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On Friday, Brady seemed to hear all that criticism and reversed course, posting a story to Instagram with a message to Patriots owner Robert Kraft saying, "You know I got your back RKK. Get that seventh ring so we can match." 

Samuel appreciated that Brady got Patriots' fans message loud and clear, but wondered if all was forgiven for his earlier "foolishness." 

Given Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, I think it's safe to say he'll be largely forgiven by Pats fans. That said, Brady learned the hard way that when you're a franchise legend, neutrality isn't ever really an option -- especially since he's not actually broadcasting the Super Bowl this year. 

Brady might be more invested in the Raiders now and have to cover the league as a whole in his role as an analyst, but he'll always be synonymous with the Patriots. Trying to shy away from that only works against him.