Tyrann Mathieu was mic’d-up in Super Bowl, but we’ll never know what Tom Brady said
NFL Films released its full video of mic’d-up moments during Super Bowl LV, and it runs more than 40 minutes.
But something is missing.
About halfway through the video, viewers get to the point when Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland was called for a 34-yard pass interference penalty shortly before halftime.
Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, who was wired for sound, tells an official: “Aw, what!? He tripped!”
Two plays later, Mathieu was flagged for pass interference in the end zone and he told the official: “What? Oh, come on now, bro!”
On the next play, the Buccaneers scored a touchdown and that Mathieu argument with Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady soon followed.
The NFL Films video shows the Buccaneers celebrating and then the teams going to halftime, skipping over the Brady/Mathieu fracas. So we don’t know what was said between the stars.
That’s despite Mathieu writing in a now-deleted tweet: “He called me something I won’t repeat, but yeah I’ll let all the media throw me under the bus as if I did something or said something to him.”
Brady also apologized for what he said, sending a text to Mathieu.
Former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin said the Brady/Mathieu conversation will never be made public. But Irvin, who is part of Showtime’s “Inside The NFL” show, saw what NFL Films had of the interaction.
During an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Irvin said he couldn’t divulge what Brady said to Mathieu, but it wasn’t a racial slur.
“I didn’t like that Tyrann Mathieu put that out like that,” Irvin said. They way he put it out, because, I go, come on now. It makes ... people want to know, ‘What’d he say?’ as if he said the n-word. And he did not. Tom did not. So, you know, I didn’t like that even looming over this situation.”
Later Irvin said, “I don’t think that’s fair and just for Tom. ... So I want to squash all of that. This was just two guys competing. That’s what that is. Just two guys competing.”
So what was said?
Well, we won’t know. Pro Football Talk reported NFL Films won’t be sharing the exchange because it “typically does not reveal the audio of such squabbles between players.”
If you want to watch the entire video of mic’d-up players at Super Bowl LV, here it is.
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 11:22 AM.
