Why Daniel Ricciardo rejected Tom Brady and the New England Patriots

Daniel Ricciardo shared an experience with Tom Brady few will ever replicate, but the Aussie still refused to jump on the Patriots bandwagon.

Not even catching a Tom Brady pass could convince Daniel Ricciardo to support the New England Patriots.

Brady, the legendary NFL quarterback who guided the Pats to six Super Bowl victories across nearly 20 years before defecting and joining Tampa Bay last year, took part in a publicity event with Ricciardo in Monaco in 2018 but the Aussie F1 star wasn’t going to be won over so easily.

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The West Australian is an American football fan but instead of the Patriots, Ricciardo supports the Buffalo Bills, who hail from upstate New York.

Although getting to toss the pigskin with Brady on-board yachts on the Cote d’Azur was cool, Ricciardo didn’t want to jump on the Patriots bandwagon and was determined to throw his support behind a slightly less fancied NFL team.

“Obviously I met Brady and that was amazing, and awesome. But it would have felt like a bandwagon (to support the Patriots),” Ricciardo told ESPN.

“The Brady pass was surreal. Not just to receive the pass, but to do yacht to yacht was crazy.

“Everyone was (a fan of) Brady and Patriots, so I thought I’d do something a little different.

“I forced myself not to go for a California team. I was like, let’s change it up a little. I thought I’m going to go for something a little out of the box.”

Tom Brady couldn’t bring Daniel Ricciardo into the Patriots crew. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

That’s why Ricciardo landed on the Bills, whose supporter base — known as the Bills Mafia — is famous in the US for their painful-looking stunts, including jumping through tables.

“Every week I’d see something viral on Instagram with the Bills Mafia. It kind of reminds me of my mates back home,” Ricciardo told ESPN.

“It is a team we would support. It speaks our language.

“By the sounds of it they’re very loyal fans. I know as well the Bills Mafia has a big charity, another incentive to get behind them. It’s giving back to the community and I thought that was pretty cool as well.”

In a video posted to McLaren’s official Twitter account last month, Ricciardo elaborated on his appreciation for the Bills and their fans.

“I want to be put through a table,” he said. “To really be part of the Bills Mafia, you need to go through a table so at some point, I would be honoured if someone put me through a table.”

Chat about Ricciardo’s appreciation for the NFL comes as F1 prepares to hit Texas this weekend for the United States Grand Prix.

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FOLDED #BillsMafia (via ig:nads_abda) pic.twitter.com/YA8oDB8Sar

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 3, 2021