Turducken wasn’t on Tom Brady’s ultra-healthy meal plan for Thanksgiving this year and fans caught him.
While calling the Giants’ 27-20 loss to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, Brady looked less than thrilled to be forced to eat FOX’s traditional meal started by the late John Maddenm which involves a turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck that’s then stuffed with a de-boned chicken.
“It’s your first official Turducken. What do you think?” Fox broadcast partner Kevin Burkhardt asked Brady.
He added, “Let’s do it,” while grabbing a big leg of turkey and taking a bite.
“How did a duck and a chicken get roped into this?” Brady said, perhaps stalling while picking up a turkey leg.
Brady then lifted the Turducken to his mouth and took the tiniest of bites with his teeth barely grazing the turkey, chicken and duck.
“That’s good. That’s really good,” Brady said with a mouth full of only turkey before the second half started. “I’m bailing you guys. Have a good night. This was awesome. By the way, this was awesome.”
The grazing bite from Brady is critical in Turducken-gate as fans pointed out that he didn’t get any of the rest of the food in the stuffed turkey.
One X user noted: “No duck or chicken in the turkey leg.”
The dish, popularized by the legendary Madden, is staple on the Fox broadcast, with clips of players from the 80s and 90s eating it constantly being shown during Thanksgiving games.
Fox typically will also show the old clip from the 90s of Madden explaining how to make the oddball meal.
Brady has been obsessed with his diet for most of his NFL career, especially since he hooked up with his longtime trainer and dietician, Alex Guerrero.
Guerrero helped Brady found “TB12,” his company that sells supplements and meal plans for individuals.
Brady credits the TB12 system for allowing him to enjoy his NFL career as long as he did.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner played 23 seasons, most with the Patriots.
The Turducken tradition might not be Brady’s thing, but it dates back to when Madden partnered with Pat Summerall.
The tradition began in 1989 when Madden awarded Reggie White a turkey leg after the Eagles’ dominant 27-0 win over the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
If Brady sticks around a while, he might want to dive in for real next year and eat some more of football’s favorite tradition.