Some of the guests at the upcoming Tom Brady roast are going to be very familiar faces.
Even if Tom Brady isn’t as hot as he once was, he remains one of the few football stars who has crossed over into being a mainstream celebrity. And he did so without committing an unspeakable crime or dating Taylor Swift.
To this day, he remains a polarizing fixture among sports fans. Many people have a lot of things to say about him.
And they’ll get their chance. Not everyone roasting him will be a comedian. Some will be fellow athletes who’ve known him for decades.
Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots stands on the field during the NFL game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 17, 2005. (Photo Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images)
‘The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady’ airs May 5
Netflix’s upcoming roast of Tom Brady has a title that plays off of Brady’s “GOAT” label. It airs on Sunday, May 5, launching at 8PM (EST).
In the trailer, Tom Brady himself quips “no f–king problem.” Kevin Hart hosts the event, which features a tagline: “no helmets, no mercy, no Brady rule.”
The Brady Rule refers to the prosecutor’s legal obligation to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence during a criminal trial. However, in football, it refers to a ban on hitting quarterbacks below the knees. In the sports arena, this clever play on words and associated policy exist because of Tom Brady.
Kevin Hart will not be the only comedian present. Jeff Ross, who has long held the Comedy Central title of “Roastmaster General,” appears in the trailer.
“We’re coming for you, pretty boy,” he menaces.
However, many of the Tom Brady roast guests will not be professional comedians.
Who are the guests at the roast of Tom Brady?
On Monday, April 29, ESPN’s Adam Schefter took to Twitter to share some — but not all — of the guests at Tom Brady’s roast.
The names on the list are familiar to NFL fans.
And one or two are recognizable even to people who are so detached from the football world that they can can only infer what “Deflategate” was all about.
Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots poses for his NFL headshot circa 2011. (Photo Credit: NFL via Getty Images)
Rob Gronkowski
Even people who have no idea who Rob Gronkowski is or which team he’s played for have likely seen people write “Gronk” on social media and learned, to their astonishment, that it’s not some sort of horny sound effect or the name of a Pokemon.
In reality, Gronk has a truly historic career of playing alongside Tom Brady. In fact, he played with him with the New England Patriots and down in Florida with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Gronk has been famous within the sports world for a long time. It will be interesting for viewers to find out if he performs well at the roast.
Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots makes a catch during training camp on July 31, 2009. (Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images)
Julian Edelman
In addition to having played with Tom Brady, Julian Edelman already has a history of roasting the guy. Just not at a formal roast.
On social media and on his podcast, Games with Names, Edelman has poked fun at Brady in the past. So he has experience.
Many expect that these (extremely wealthy) guests at the roast will have comedians as ghostwriters. That seems likely. However, it would not be a surprise if Edelman has some original lines to throw at Brady.
Randy Moss #81of the New England Patriots participates in a drill during the first day of training camp at Gillette Stadium on July 24, 2008. (Photo Credit: Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Randy Moss
Unlike, say, Rob Gronkowski, Randy Moss only played with Tom Brady for a couple of seasons.
However, these were some of Brady’s biggest years as an athlete. (Moss himself is an accomplished, record-setting athlete within the NFL)
Moss is, in some ways, as polarizing as Brady himself. His personality is certain to shine as a guest at the roast.
4 September 1994: Quarterback Drew Bledsoe of the New England Patriots rallies the offense during a loss to the Miami Dolphins. (Photo Credit: Scott Halleran/ALLSPORT)
Drew Bledsoe
The roast of Tom Brady is taking place 23 years after Brady stepped in as quarterback of the New England Patriots. Before he assumed that role, Drew Bledsoe held it.
Presumably, that means that Bledsoe has had more than two decades to allow his opinion of Brady as a person and a player to marinate.
He should definitely have some interesting commentary to share. Speaking of which, that brings us to one more name on the list.
New England Patriots’ Head Coach Bill Belichick directs his team practice at a local university campus in New Orleans, Louisiana 30 January 2002. (Photo Credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Bill Belichick
For years, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has been roasting Tom Brady in a more professional setting.
This time, he gets to do it at an actual roast.
Football fans, Brady fans, and Brady haters are all looking forward to hearing what insights he chooses to share.
Tom Brady Roast Surprise Guests Revealed: Who’s Tearing Into The QB? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.