TAMPA, Fla. – Immediately after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV on Sunday, Bucs quarterback Tom Brady texted an apology to Chiefs Safety Tyrann Mathieu for several verbal altercations on the field, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
ESPN the contents of the letter were read aloud.
Brady apologized to Mathieu for losing his composure at the time of the match, of which Mathieu said, “I never really saw that side of him.”
During the match, Brady and Mathieu thrashed several times. At one point, Brady even chased him and got in his face.
Brady called Mathieu the “ultimate competitor” in his apology text, saying he knew he had to match Mathieu’s intensity on Sunday.
Brady told Mathieu that he had watched him since his days at LSU and praised Mathieu for his heart, calling him an “incredible leader, champion and class act”.
Brady also expressed his wish to personally apologize in the future. He said his outbursts at an emotional moment were in no way a reflection of his feelings for Mathieu, whom he spoke highly of all week prior to the game.
Mathieu explained his side of the altercation, saying in a since-deleted tweet that Brady started the verbal argument when he called Mathieu “something I won’t repeat.”
“He’s clearly after me, but I got flagged,” Mathieu said in another deleted tweet.