Dave Portnoy has never hidden where his loyalties lie, and this time his frustration was aimed squarely at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Barstool Sports founder reacted angrily to a social media post that resurfaced memories of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski celebrating together, accusing the franchise of riding the coattails of a dynasty built elsewhere.
Dave Portnoy slams Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski post
Portnoy had an unfiltered reaction on X, which featured Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski celebrating two touchdowns from Super Bowl LV.
He wrote, “It’s embarrassing to post this s___. Never seen a franchise try to mooch off another franchise more than this.”
While Brady and Gronkowski were Tampa Bay players when they won Super Bowl LV, Portnoy’s anger was rooted in history rather than technicality.
To him, the image represented something deeper. Both stars became legends in New England, where they won multiple Super Bowls and defined an era of dominance.
Portnoy viewed the Buccaneers’ post as an attempt to borrow credibility from that Patriots legacy rather than celebrate their own independent identity.
Why Portnoy believes the Buccaneers benefit from the Patriots legacy
Brady and Gronkowski’s time in Tampa Bay was successful, but brief. Their partnership was forged and perfected in New England, where the bulk of their achievements came.
From Portnoy’s perspective, that distinction matters. He has long argued that Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl success was a short-term extension of the Patriots core rather than the product of a homegrown culture.
For Portnoy, celebrating that moment years later crosses a line. He sees it as leaning too heavily on players whose defining moments came elsewhere.
That frustration reflects a broader sentiment among some Patriots fans, who believe Brady and Gronkowski’s legacy belongs primarily in Foxborough.
While Tampa Bay fans view the Super Bowl as a legitimate chapter in franchise history, Portnoy frames it as a borrowed moment.
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