National Football League

Bill Belichick, Peyton Manning and the best moments from Tom Brady's roast

Updated May. 6, 2024 1:44 p.m. ET

After more than two decades of winning, it was Tom Brady's turn to take the hot seat.

The iconic quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl winner was roasted in a Netflix special Sunday night titled "G.R.O.A.T. The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady."

Unlike many other televised roasts, Brady's roast was live and ran for more than three hours, giving the roasters plenty of time to throw quips at the former quarterback.

Several notable names in the football and entertainment worlds made appearances on Sunday as well. Bill Belichick and former New England Patriots players, such as Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Randy Moss and Drew Bledsoe, were on one side of the dais. On the other side, comedians Jeff Ross, Nikki Glaser and Sam Jay were among those to make jokes at Brady's expense. There were also multiple special appearances, such as Will Ferrell as "Anchorman" character Ron Burgundy, Peyton Manning and with Kevin Hart serving as the roast master.

Let's take a look at some of the best moments from Sunday's event.

Drew Bledsoe gets benched … again

The show opened in a similar fashion as Brady's career did. In a pre-taped segment, Belichick pulled Bledsoe aside and let Brady take center stage.

"It's great seeing you again," Belichick said. "This is a big night. The fans want you. Everyone wants you. But it's not your night. Sorry, Drew.

"Brady … You're in, let's go!"

But Bledsoe gets his revenge

Bledsoe was the first former Patriots player to take the mic, firing off a joke at Belichick's employment status after the show opening.

"There were rumors Coach Belichick was gonna be here tonight," Bledsoe quipped. "Turns out he has some time on his hands. Look, at least when I was fired somebody else wanted me."

Bledsoe admitted Monday on "The Herd" that it was more diffcult to roast his former backup than his former coach.

"You can't make fun of his career, you can't make fun of his accomplishments, so you've gotta go personal." Bledsoe told Colin Cowherd.

Bledsoe also offered some insight into Brady's mentality entering the roast.

"His point was, ‘Look, man, everything has already been said. None of this is brand new material. Might as well just say it to my face.'"

Bledsoe wasn't the only one to get jokes off at Belichick's expense

Edelman also made a jab at Belichick's inability to land a head coaching gig this offseason.

"Remember when you used to yell at us, ‘Look ---holes, the ----ing kids at Foxborough High can make that ----ing play,'" Edelman said. "I've been waiting for this for so long: Look ---hole, Foxborough High is the only job offer you ----ing had.

"Do your job? More like, need a job, coach."

Edelman's joke got a hearty laugh out of Belichick and some claps.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft also made jokes on Sunday night even though he wasn't on the dais, taking the mic while in the audience. One of his jokes centered on the possible awkwardness between him and the former head coach of his football team.

"Like many family reunions, there's some people I'm desperately trying to avoid," Kraft said. "Coach Belichick, good to see you. You really look debonair in sleeves."

Belichick and Kraft share a moment

Arguably the most memorable part of the roast didn't involve Brady at all. Shortly after Kraft made a handful of jokes, Hart called the Patriots owner to come up to the dais and take a shot with Belichick. While it looked awkward, the two eventually took a shot together, but not before Kraft shared a message.

"I want to say this is the greatest coach in the history of the game that did what no one else has done," Kraft said. "And having Tom Brady and him was the greatest honor the good Lord gave me."

Belichick and Kraft mutually agreed to end their working relationship after 24 seasons in January. While Belichick's tenure with the Patriots is arguably the best ever for a coach in NFL history with six Super Bowl titles, Kraft recommended the Atlanta Falcons not to hire his former head coach this offseason, according to a report from ESPN in April.

Belichick fires off jokes

The former Patriots coach had jokes for nearly everyone involved in the roast, expressing how happy he was that he wasn't the center subject of the event.

"It's an honor to be here at the roast of Tom Brady on Netflix," Belichick said. "It's not to be confused with the roast of Bill Belichick on the 10-part Apple TV series."

Belichick also roasted former players.

"A lot of people connect me to the saying, 'Do your job,' and telling people to do their job," Belichick said. "Gronk, I've been watching you on FOX NFL Sunday, and I'm begging you: Stop doing your job. Do another job. Do somebody else's job!"

His roast of Gronkowski didn't end there.

"Rob landed some endorsement deals with some of his favorite foods," Belichick said. "Campbell's soup, Dunkin Donuts, and don't forget Tide Pods. One-hundred percent true story: I used Rob's Tide Pod commercial to teach our team that this is when you say no. Just because somebody asks you to do something stupid, you don't have to do it. Say no!"

Belichick also took aim at a few other former Patriots players, including Danny Amendola.

"Danny Amendola up here on the stage, he came with us," Belichick said. "Danny joined us in 2014 and got us 200 yards that year. Then in 2016, he picked up another 250. Or to put it another way, what Randy [Moss] would call a decent first half."

Belichick also roasted the roast master.

"Whenever Kevin talks I go into a Cover 2 defense: Cover both ears."

The coach also made a self-deprecating joke about his demeanor.

"The fellas invited me up here to lighten the mood tonight."

Brady and Belichick go back-and-forth

Belichick gave his take on who was more responsible for the Patriots' dynasty on Sunday.

"For all of you out there that think about who's responsible for the Patriots' success during the time when Tom and I were there, was it Brady? Was it me? Was it Brady? Was it me? In reality, the truth of the matter is, it was both of us — because of me."

Brady made sure to point out, though, that he won a Super Bowl after leaving the Patriots in 2020.

"I've been out of the game for a minute, so I'm curious, how many Super Bowl rings have you won since I left?" Brady said, looking toward Belichick. "Maybe it's not just the guy on the sideline. When I go to the Indy 500, I don't ask the winning driver, 'Hey, who gassed up your car?'"

The two rivals also fire jabs

The rivalry between Brady and Manning went from the gridiron to the dais on Sunday, with each tossing a few jokes at each other.

"Honestly, it is great to be here with a bunch of people sitting around talking smack about Tom Brady," Manning said in one joke about Brady. "Or as we call that in the Manning family: Thanksgiving."

"For those who don't know, Coach [Belichick] is going to do some work on Eli [Manning] and my Monday Night Football show this year," Manning added in another. "Eli and I are super excited, and it's going to give Coach Belichick something he hasn't had in awhile: The chance to be around quarterbacks he respects."

Brady's jokes at Manning focused on how the Hall of Fame quarterback typically played second fiddle to him.

"I know sometimes you live in Denver, and sometimes you live in Louisiana," Brady said in one joke. "But you will always live in my shadow."

Brady's teammates roast him

Hart opened the night by joking that Joe Montana was really the "GOAT" while Bledsoe made a pair of cracks at Brady's demeanor toward speaking with referees.

Moss, meanwhile, was more upset that he wasn't able to win a ring with Brady during their time together in New England.

"Why the ---- didn't we cheat when I was there?" Moss jokingly asked.

Edelman made a crack at Brady's look.

"When we played together, Tom, you used to scream, ‘Laser focus! Laser focus!' Now that's what he screams at his plastic surgeon," Edelman said. "Who's laughing now Tom? Not you, because your face can't move and you don't have a sense of humor."

Gronkowski also made jokes about Brady, but celebrated afterward by getting Belichick and the former quarterback to take a shot with him. Of course, Gronkowski spiked his shot glass after.

Kraft made a joke about Brady's impending deal to become a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

"Tommy, good luck buying the Raiders," Kraft said. "They already did your favorite thing — get rid of Jimmy Garoppolo."

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