New England Patriots
Brady went viral after smacking Logan Paul’s face on Friday.
(L-R) Chris Costa, Wesley Sneijder, Tom Brady, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Logan Paul speak onstage during the This is Why We Collect panel at Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 on July 17, 2026 in New York City. John Nacion/Getty Images for Fanatics
July 18, 2026 | 5:40 PM
2 minutes to read
Legendary New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been far from bored since retiring from the NFL for good in 2023.
From acquiring a partial ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders to becoming FOX’s main NFL color commentator, Brady has remained firmly in the spotlight.
His latest public outing came during this weekend’s Fanatics Fest in New York City, which is an annual sports fan festival that features celebrity appearances and a slew of activities for attendees.
Brady, 48, participated in a panel on Friday to discuss card collecting alongside wrestler Logan Paul, 31, NBA champion Karl-Anthony Towns, and former Dutch soccer player Wesley Sneijder.
Things seemed to have taken a turn at some point, as Brady was filmed slapping Paul on his face. Towns helped to separate the pair.
It’s easy to wonder if the interaction was staged, given how outlandish the situation was. Nevertheless, the video is a comical watch.
Brady called Paul a “nerd” and “dork” in two separate posts on X afterward, which garnered over 100,000 “likes” total.
If you require some context behind the real or fake confrontation, here’s the backstory.
After the fact, Paul took to X to explain he was slapped for “roasting Tom for beating him in flag football” earlier this year. The pair participated in Fanatics’ Flag Football Classic exhibition tournament in March; Paul’s team defeated Brady’s 34-26 to eliminate them from the round-robin tournament. NFL stars like Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts participated in the competition as flag football has become popular.
Prior to the flag football clash, Brady and Paul had been beefing about the topic of athleticism. Paul, a YouTuber turned WWE wrestler, suggested he was just as athletic as NFL players in February. Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, called Paul’s athleticism “cute” compared to that of professional football players. This interaction also took place at a Fanatics event.
This months-long “feud” resulted in Friday’s awkward slap at a Fanatics-sponsored gathering, which begs the question of whether the entire thing is authentic.
Aside from striking Paul at the fan fest, Brady took part in some more laid-back activities. MLB shared a video of Brady throwing a baseball with great accuracy from a distance.
Brady was the 507th overall pick in the 1995 MLB Draft, selected by the Montreal Expos as a left-handed-hitting catcher.
Brady was also photographed with a putter in hand and kicking a football off a holder.
Tom Brady on July 18, 2026. Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for FanaticsTom Brady on July 18, 2026. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Fanatics
Kaley Brown
Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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