Edit via Liam McGuire

With the New England Patriots back in the Super Bowl for the first time since the Brady-Belichick dynasty, it would be natural for Tom Brady to be rooting for his former team that he spent so many great years with to take home another Lombardi Trophy.

But instead, he is channeling his inner Rob Lowe.

Tom Brady now wears many hats in his post-playing career, most prominently as the $375 million lead analyst with the NFL on Fox and as part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. On his Let’s Go podcast with Jim Gray, Brady said that he isn’t rooting for the Patriots in the game, he just wants to see good football.

Via Pro Football Talk:

I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one,” Brady told Jim Gray in the latest edition of the Let’s Go! podcast. “May the best team win. And in terms of the Patriots, this is a new chapter in New England, and I’m glad everyone’s embraced the Mike Vrabel regime, all the amazing players that have worked so hard to get their club to this position. We did it for 20 years. There was a little bit of a hiatus in there, but the Patriots are back and it’s a very exciting time for everyone in New England.”

Brady’s sole interest, so he says, is that the game be entertaining.

“I just wanna see good football,” Brady said. “I wanna see good plays, good throws, good strategy, good decisions.”

It’s a very diplomatic take from Tom Brady, if not downright surprising. We live in a day and age where people are more comfortable than ever with being honest about their allegiances and everyone would be completely understanding if the  Patriots legend was riding with his former teammate Mike Vrabel and his old team. The former quarterback has remained close to Patriots owner Robert Kraft, even making sure that he was protected during his infamous Netflix roast.

But maybe as a part-owner and broadcaster, Brady wants to take neutrality to the max on this one. At the very least, hopefully he’s right that we can see a good game because the last time the Patriots played in the Super Bowl against the Rams in Super Bowl LIII it was one of the worst games of all time.