A team effort! Ben Affleck revealed that he and longtime pal Matt Damon were so worried about Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots, that the duo reached out to the NFL quarterback to get to the truth.
Affleck, 47, dished about the moment in question during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday, February 18. He said that the Good Will Hunting costars worked together to get Brady, 42, to squeal but they were unsuccessful in their attempts.
“Me and Matt texted him, ‘What’s the deal? You going or you staying? And this is what we got back: an emoji,” the Argo actor said, showing off his impression of the shrug emoji.
Affleck then expressed his desire for the footballer to continue with the Massachusetts-based team. “I hope he stays. I think he’s fabulous. By the same token, he’s given up a lot of money to play for that franchise over the years that he well deserves,” he explained. “The New England Patriots didn’t sacrifice any money winning all those Super Bowls, selling all those tickets, selling all that merchandise. I pray and hope that he stays. It would break my heart if he left.”
Earlier in his interview, Affleck also noted that the six-time Super Bowl champion is “a prince and a kind guy and a really sweet, sweet man, and just the greatest football player who has ever lived.”
Affleck and Damon, 49, have worked on several projects together, including School Ties and Glory Daze. But another thing that has connected the Boston natives over the years is their love of sports. The A-listers have cheered on the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics, in addition to their outspoken support of the Patriots.
Last month, Brady gave many die-hard Patriots fans quite the scare after posting a cryptic black-and-white photo to Instagram of himself walking through a tunnel. Though many speculated whether the captionless-snap was Brady teasing his retirement, these rumors were debunked days later when the shot appeared in a Super Bowl LIV ad on February 2.
Brady stated on January 5 that “it’s pretty unlikely” he will retire from the NFL anytime soon. “I love the Patriots. It’s the greatest organization. Playing for Mr. [Robert] Kraft all these years, and for Coach [Bill] Belichick, there’s nobody who’s had a better career, I would say, than me — just being with them. So I’m very blessed,” he said at the time, according to ESPN. “I don’t know what the future looks like, so I’m not going to predict it.”
