NFL warns teams not to destroy their Surface Pro tablets after GOAT Brady destroys two in one game

The National Football League (NFL) was one of the first professional sports organizations in the U.S. to embrace mobile tech. (As an aside to my colleague Martin, we're talking American Football here, you know, the real football). Before the 2014 season, the NFL and Microsoft made a deal to equip all NFL teams with multiple Surface Pro tablets modified to withstand weather conditions and any contact on the sidelines.

Previously, coaches would use Polaroid cameras to take photos from the press box and sidelines that would capture opponents' offensive and defensive schemes. But the deal with Microsoft, valued at $400 million, gave NFL teams new tools to use during games. Things didn't get off to a good start as announcers on NFL telecasts referred to the tablets as iPads surely upsetting Microsoft brass.

Wait a second? Tom Brady smashes 2 tablets last week after smashing a tablet last year & NOW all 32 teams get a memo warning of future ‘significant fines” for Behaving like Brady? Why not just fine Tom? pic.twitter.com/X4fnpqAdCu

— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) September 25, 2022

The real issue is that the Surface Pro tablets have been abused by coaches and players. In 2019, New England's mercurial head coach Bill Belichick, not a fan of the tablets, hurled one into the stands during that year's AFC Championship game. Microsoft's Chief Product Officer Panos Panay gave an injury report for the tablet via tweet and said, "Don't worry about the Surface Pro, we quality test for this exact scenario."

Just last week, certain Hall of Famer Tom Brady, the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, destroyed two Surface Pro slates during a frustrating moment in a game that Brady won. That led the NFL to send out a memo to all 32 teams yesterday warning them to expect "significant fines" if they are caught destroying the Surface Pro tablets. During Brady's game, the QB widely regarded as the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) was seen during the telecast tossing one tablet and destroying it.

After the game, Brady said, "Sorry for breaking that tablet. I think it will be another Twitter meme."

Deadspin sportswriter Chuck Modi made a valid point in a tweet. He wrote, "Wait a second? Tom Brady smashes 2 tablets last week after smashing a tablet last year & NOW all 32 teams get a memo warning of future ‘significant fines” for Behaving like Brady? Why not just fine Tom?" Last season, Brady destroyed a Surface Pro tablet giving him a total of three tablets destroyed during his career which is four fewer than the number of Super Bowl rings he owns.

Speaking of the Surface Pro tablets, the Surface Pro 9 just visited the FCC, and rumors about the high-end device have been spreading like wildfire.