This thought actually occurred to me when I was considering how Brady would handle the moment if he wins the MVP and Goodell has to hand him the trophy.
Brady does not have many years left and will have to retire some day. If the Pats win this Superbowl then he really has nothing left to prove. He could continue to play the game he loves and add to his legacy, and of course, a crippling injury that reduces or eliminates his ability to continue playing, or a sudden falloff in his physical skills, could make continuing his career something he no longer has a say over, when teams have better options.
With all of the crap he and the Pats have had with this corrupt NFL* continuing to cheat and find ways to handicap the Pats and bring them back to the pack, and with an inability for Brady to fight back against a corrupt Omissioner, that the courts have said can do pretty much anything he wants discipline wise, what better way could Brady choose to leave, on his own terms, than after winning a 5th Superbowl, and 4th SB MVP.
Imagine something like this. Brady wins the SB MVP, and when Goodell hands him the trophy, he says something like this.
While I have loved playing in the NFL* for the Pats fans, Robert Kraft, and Bill Belichick, in recent times the experience has become somewhat less enjoyable than it has been when I started, and that is due in large part, to the corrupt leadership that the NFL* now has.
I am announcing my retirement from the NFL* effective immediately. By winning this MVP trophy, and helping the Pats win one more Superbowl, it should be noted that I did this for my family, Pats fans everywhere, coach Belichick, and the Kraft family. I certainly have the ability to keep playing, but to continue playing under such a corrupt organization as the NFL*, led by a cowardly toady for the owners, would offend every fiber of my being.
I have always been a competitor, and I compete on a level playing field, if I lose, I determine why and do whatever I need to do to make myself better so that I am more likely to win next time.
But whatever I do, I do NOT cheat, and I take the greatest offense to being accused of that, particularly when the accusation comes from the spineless weasel standing beside me to hand me this trophy.
You look a bit red Roger, are you getting upset? Well hold on a bit because you are about to turn even redder.
You may have a trophy for me, but I have something to give you as well. I am instructing my legal team to begin the process of filing a lawsuit against you and the corrupt NFL* you serve, for defamation of character, and THIS time, the trial won't be conducted in a kangaroo court where you get to be judge, jury, and executioner.
You had no evidence before to come close to proving that I did anything to the balls, or directed anyone to do so on my behalf. THIS time, there will he actual evidence provided in a court of law. I hope you didn't destroy YOUR cellphone, or direct any of your lackeys to destroy their's, as they will be needed soon to check for evidence.
Brady out....