The countdown to the Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has already sparked more drama off the field than on it. Former NFL superstar Tom Brady and WWE sensation Logan Paul have traded barbs in the lead-up to the March 21 event.
The tournament, set at Kingdom Arena, will feature past and present NFL stars in a round-robin format.
Players such as Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson, Christian McCaffrey, Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, and former standout Rob Gronkowski are expected to take part.
Amid all the NFL firepower, the rivalry between Brady and Paul has captured the spotlight.
The exchange began during Paul‘s Impaulsive podcast, when the professional wrestler outlined his athletic resume and touted his abilities ahead of the matchup.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, wasn’t convinced that WWE experience would translate to football.
“I’m actually a little worried for you,” Brady joked. “You’re a good athlete, but these guys are on another level. It’s cute. I love WWE. It’s very cute.
“But, honestly, this is like real football, real competition. Let’s see if you can still bring it. I mean, we all had a great past.
“I won seven Super Bowls, You know what matters? This game, March 21, in Saudi, I’m glad you’re going to be there and I’m glad you’re finally going to participate in a competition that matters.”
Logan Paul fires back
Paul didn’t take the comments lightly. On a new episode of Impaulsive, he fired back, claiming he could match Brady athletically across a majority of sports.
“If you put me and Tom Brady up athletically against one another in a majority of sports, I bet I’d be more athletic,” Paul said.
He also pushed back on Brady‘s dismissal of WWE, suggesting football isn’t invincible either.
“He used the word ‘cute’ when talking about the WWE. I think in many ways, football is also cute because I’m a boxer and you can put most NFL players and basketball players in a ring and they’ll get their asses kicked by real boxers.”
Paul also addressed the debate about crossover between sports: “I think, all around, most NFL players are better athletes than most WWE superstars, but I’m not sure that we could switch roles and it would be easy for either side,” he continued.
“Every sport, at the highest level, takes an insane level of dedication and specificity and skill set that you can’t quite translate or copy and paste one into the other.”
The back-and-forth highlights the intrigue of the upcoming Fanatics Flag Football Classic, which mixes NFL legends, current stars, and celebrity participants in a competitive but highly publicized showcase.
Brady and Paul are set to share the field in Riyadh, putting their ongoing debate over athleticism to the test in front of a global audience.
Whether it ends in mutual respect, another verbal duel, or one side proving superiority on the scoreboard, the event has already captured worldwide attention and promises to be a fascinating matchup.
Read the full article here
