The Antonio Brown helmet saga has been a prominent NFL storyline over the last month, but the Oakland Raiders wide receiver is far from the only player attached to a certain piece of equipment.
In fact, even Tom Brady himself is superstitious when it comes to the equipment he takes with him on the field every Sunday. Like Brown, Brady isn't a fan of the league's new helmet rule, but there's another piece of equipment the Patriots quarterback couldn't imagine playing without.
In an exclusive interview on Quick Slants the Podcast with NBC Sports Boston's own Tom E. Curran, Brady explained why he's so attached to his shoulder pads.
"I've worn them for 25 years," Brady said. "They've gotten reconditioned a little bit, but I think once you find something you like, you kind of stick with it. I've always kind of liked the way they felt, the shape of them. People have tried to put me in a lot of other ones."
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For those keeping track, 25 years means Brady has worn the same shoulder pads since his first year at Michigan in 1995.
One would think after taking so many hits over such a long period of time, the pads may not provide the same kind of protection they once offered the 42-year-old QB. Brady didn't seem all that concerned.
"They reconditioned [the shoulder pads] a little bit, but that's the same plastic," he said. "Same size. And sometimes the models change, and they don't make the same ones as they used to."
Fortunately, the NFL hasn't forced Brady to change his pads like it made him change his helmet. Brady opened up about why that was such a difficult transition to make.
"I've been wearing the same thing for, you know, forever," he said. "You get used to one thing, one feel ... this [helmet] is a pound heavier, so it's 25 percent heavier on your head. That takes a lot of getting used to. I wish it was lighter. I tried to make it lighter and they couldn't make it lighter.
"I mean, add 25 percent to everything. Add 25 percent to your pen, or 25 percent smaller keys on your keyboard, and tell me how that feels. It's a little different."
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