From common error codes or issues with Zoom, there might be times when you’re fed up with your computer and want to physically break it, but Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tom Brady might have taken that feeling a little too seriously.
The star quarterback recently smashed a Microsoft Surface tablet midgame (and physically separated the display of the device before chucking it at the floor,) and the NFL has now warned him not to do it again.
Although Brady actually smashed his special-built Surface tablet — used by the NFL and all NFL Teams for sideline officiating and coaching — out of anger in a losing game to the New Orleans Saints, the matter is apparently very serious. Speaking with Jim Gray on SiriusXM’s Let’s Go podcast, ESPN reported on what the NFL and Brady discussed after his smashing moment went viral on social media.
“I did get a warning from the NFL. I can’t throw another Surface or else I get fined. Imagine that! Imagine that,” said Brady.
Brady also went on to talk about how he won’t throw another Surface, though he thinks it’s good for the Microsoft brand. “I think it was pretty good marketing for the Surface at the end of the day. I think it worked out pretty well for them,” Brady said.
While Brady’s smashing of a Surface tablet isn’t the first in the NFL (just ask Aaron Rodgers,) Microsoft Surface chief Panos Panay played fun with the moment. As seen in an Instagram Story caught by a reporter from The Verge, Panay playfully remarked, “Not an official drop test, but ouch.”
Though coaches and broadcasters once called the Surface devices “iPads,” Microsoft has paid up a lot of money to have its flagship tablets on the sidelines of the NFL. It would make sense why the league warned Brady not to smash any more Surface devices on national television.
In 2014, the company paid $400 million to be the NFL’s official sideline technology sponsor. It also has launched Type Covers for Surface Pro devices branded with NFL team logos. Commercials for Surface devices seen during national games also featured NFL stars like Russell Wilson and Malcolm Smith.
The NFL did not respond to ESPN’s request for comment on Tom Brady’s remarks about potential fines.
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