Tom Brady disappointed in NFL tripping fine vs. Malik Hooker: ‘I tried to trip him but I didn’t’

Tom Brady lost in more ways than one after the Buccaneers’ wild-card defeat against the Cowboys on Jan. 17.

The Tampa Bay signal-caller was also fined $16,444 by the NFL for attempting to trip Cowboys defensive back Malik Hooker following a fumble recovery by the latter.

Video of the incident shows Brady attempting something akin to a slide tackle from behind, though he never made contact with Hooker.

Tom Brady was fined $16,444, according to @RapSheet, for trying to trip Cowboys safety Malik Hooker on Monday nightpic.twitter.com/GiQHEXxhMc

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 21, 2023

Brady sounded off on the fine in the latest episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast on Monday, admitting that he attempted to trip Hooker before saying he shouldn’t be fined for a violation that never occurred.

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“I’m a little disappointed (in the fine), though, because I tried to tackle (Hooker) with my right shoulder and missed him,” Brady said. “And I wasn’t going to try to stick my arm out, so I was trying to get him on the ground. I missed him completely. I didn’t even hit him.

“I tried to trip him but I didn’t. So, I don’t know how you can get fined for something that didn’t even happen. Are they fining an intention? It’s like targeting and you miss the person you hit, and they still call it targeting. So, I got to figure out and understand why this is the case. This is why I wish our NFLPA was stronger.”

The kicker (no pun intended) is the play didn’t even result in a fumble recovery for Dallas. The play was reversed after officials determined Chris Godwin was down by contact on the play. So the penalty and ensuing violation were all for naught.

It’s also curious that Brady would take a shot at the NFLPA, considering his appeal of the fine has not yet been resolved. It also doesn’t make sense the union would defend a player’s right to potentially injure another player with a clear violation, one to which Brady admitted attempting.

It’s an issue of intent vs. impact, as Brady said. The NFL clearly has judged the incident focusing on the former.