The new, outspoken version of Tom Brady is just what the NFL needs

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

Chances are you either really like Tom Brady or really don’t, given that he isn't exactly the kind of guy people are ho-hum about. Winners divide us all. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ ring-collecting quarterback has vociferous fans who treasure each fresh triumph, an army of jealous deriders and not much in between.

But whichever side of the Bradyverse you occupy, we all probably owe him a word of thanks right now.

Because amid a summer in which the National Football League news (and gossip) cycle has slowed to a trickle, the guy who once toed the line and played the role of corporate poster child is out there with some big talk, mixing it up to fill the void.

We still don’t think of Brady as a bombastic character prone to outbursts of self-important bluster. Of course we don’t; he has spent his entire career until now not being that guy. However, ever since he left Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots umbrella and took his talents to the land of palm trees, warm breeze and wealthy retirees, he doesn’t hold back anymore.

Remember the whole thing on "The Shop," when he hurled an expletive and voiced his lingering resentment about the fact that a team passed on him as his Patriots tenure ended, preferring to stick with their incumbent "&*#$!@" of a QB?

He took that sentiment and ran with it this week, offering a deeper look at how he has used every slight as motivation and name-checking a pair of cross-sport greats in the process. Brady’s strutting and swaggering right now. It’s fun.

"It would be a no-brainer if you said, 'Hey, you've got a chance to get Wayne Gretzky on your team,' or 'You get a chance to have Michael Jordan on your team,’" Brady said this week in a Sirius XM town hall event. "'Ahh, we don't need him. No, thanks. We're good.' In my mind, I'm kind of thinking, 'OK, let me go show those teams what they're missing.'"

And, wait for it, there's one last zinger incoming.

"I think what you realize is that there's not as many smart people as you think," he said.

Admit it — that last bit made you want to chuckle, didn’t it?

Maybe Brady’s even swaying a few reluctant souls to his side. This outspoken version of Brady is both wickedly funny and highly entertaining, which is very much needed at this point.

For is it just me, or is this turning into a long, loooong summer for fans of the NFL? How can it be that it felt like we were closer to the return to football action a couple of months ago than it does now?

Back then, as April crept into May, a busy, exciting and potentially transformative NFL Draft had us feeling like gridiron Sundays were just around the corner or, at the very least, that there would be some enjoyable, pigskin-themed distractions in the meantime.

Flip back to now, and it feels like it’s going to be a good while before we can start properly thinking about Week 1, let alone getting the hot dogs and fantasy rosters primed and ready. It’s hot outside, the NBA Finals are done, the Olympics don’t really feel like the Olympics, and the term "dog days" is itching to be busted out of storage.

Brady is out there giving it a go, but there isn’t a lot else happening. The strained relationship between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers initially promised to deliver a summer soap opera that kept Cheesehead news at the forefront of our minds, but it hasn’t, with most of the machinations kept well under wraps, behind the scenes and away from our prying eyes.

Most meaningful trade business was done within weeks of the previous season ending. The important coaching maneuvers took place around then, too. It’s summer, and no one is talking much trash or running their mouth — except, in his own way, Brady.

Brady had plenty to say when the Bucs won the Super Bowl and sparked a giant celebration that included him enjoying too much avocado tequila and gleefully hurling the Vince Lombardi Trophy across Floridian water to a boat full of teammates.

He has found that he enjoys this gig of saying enough to get everyone chattering, never more so than with that appearance on "The Shop," which had people around the league scribbling names on the back of envelopes in attempts to figure out who the "&*#$!@" in question might be.

Brady has played a bit of golf in his spare time and couldn’t resist throwing in a few playful jabs while taking part in a pairs showdown alongside Phil Mickelson and against Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau. His golf balls for the matchup were embossed with the Roman numerals of his Super Bowl wins. Yep, he’s feeling good about things.

After his golfing adventure, it looked like we might not hear much from Brady until the new campaign neared. But then it was released that he played all of the season with a torn MCL, which could have emerged of its own accord, but, given what we know about his mindset, would you be shocked if you found out he let it be leaked to boost his GOAT aura just a tad more?

We have to acknowledge the possibility that with everything he says and does, the new-age Brady is trying to procure a subtle edge. He has capped it off with these latest remarks, a quiet reminder that not only does he stand up there with Jordan and Gretzky (he has more titles than either), but actually, he knows it too.

He was wrong about one thing, though. There are plenty of smart people in the NFL. It’s just that Brady plays the game on a different level. He has always done that on the field, and now he has learned to take his non-football game to a higher realm as well.

Maybe it’s all for fun, a new lease on life, a still-lingering glow after winning yet another title. Maybe there’s no intent behind it.

Maybe the thought never crossed Brady's mind that by staying in the spotlight all summer and offering an ever-present reminder to all the Bucs' rivals that they weren’t good enough last time, he could confer some advantage come September.

Do you really think he’s just messing around, though? Come on, we’re smarter than that.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.