Last week Tom Brady announced that he would be “coming out of retirement” to play in a flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia. The stunt is the latest move by the Saudi government to use its riches to entice the western world that it has changed.
Brady is allowed to be an NFL team owner and an analyst for the league’s games This would be a conflict of interest for anyone else not named Tom Brady. But, the golden child for the New England Patriots who is seemingly getting younger with time,
Dave Portnoy claims that Brady is receiving $75 million for making this one-time appearance. Brady refutes the amount, but you have to wonder why a man that does so much, and has so much money, would travel across the world to throw a football and take photos.
Certainly, Brady’s decision had to be financially driven and not because he just wanted to see the middle east. The current story is it is a part of the promotion that flag football will be a part of the next Olympic games in Los Angeles. Fanatics is the sponsor of this event. Of course, with the Olympics in the U.S., one must ask why the event could not happen in America.
The Barstool founder, Portnoy proclaims that he and sidekick Big Cat were offered $10 million to just attend a boxing match. They countered with $15 million (the gall) and were turned down.
So, if the Kingdom of Saudi were willing to give podcasters $10 million, Brady has to be getting a hefty sum. But he shot back at Portnoy’s claims via social media of course disputing the claims by the Barstool guys. As practical human beings, we all know that Brady is being handsomely compensated.
The Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight was backed by Riyadh Season. According to the terms of the agreement, Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing would be doing the leg work in production of the event while the money backing the spectacle at Allegiant Stadium would be that of Saudi Arabia.
The WWE announced during the leadup to Alvarez-Crawford that it would be holding the biggest event of the year for the company, Wrestlemania, in Saudi Arabia in 2027. The unprecedented move is rumored to have Saudi Arabia paying the WWE $75 million for the 2 night event.
And we haven’t even touched the fact that the UFC is (likely) getting started with holding events in Saudi. With just 2 events in Saudi Arabia, one can expect the UFC to make it an annual (if not quarterly) trip to the region.
Not to mention the countless, soccer, boxing, and tennis events that have happened in Saudi Arabia and in the future. The country started an upstart league, LIV Golf, which rivaled the PGA Tour. Despite initial lawsuits, the two organizations came together on a pact to work together.
Sportswashing is the term that comes to mind when you hear Brady is going to Saudi Arabia to play flag football or WWE is holding its biggest event in the region. It’s the idea that Saudi Arabia, known for its human rights violations, is attempting to make people forget about the fact that its government is accused of killed a Washington Post journalist and 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia. But its also one of the richest nations, so the ties to wrongdoing have been muted due to the leverage they have with its rich resources of oil and money.
Saudia Arabia has invested billions in building state-of-the-art stadiums and facilities. It has invested in billions in global sports. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) bough the Newcastle United Football team, sponsored the LIV Golf league, and is likely backing Zuffa Boxing. Turki Al-Sheikh is arguably the biggest boxing broker in the sport due to the influence he has gained for promoting fights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and now with the partnership with TKO.
So what’s really wrong with this? As many supporters of the events and defenders of Riyadh Season argue that if they are willing to come in invest and “fix the sport,” why does it matter about the allegations lodged against the government? Why can’t we enjoy the investment they are committing to sports and not worry about what the government may (or may not) be doing?
The above questions are viable and thought-provoking…if you were actually think about them.
The investment in sports is an expensive public relations program to have the western world forget about the Kingdom’s past. Moreover, it is currying favor with sports figures, such as Tom Brady, projecting that the sportswashing is working. Many fans of Brady will see that he’s going to Saudi Arabia so the country must be fine now.
There have not been any signs from the government that it has curtailed any of the allegations of human rights wrongdoing or suppressing of women’s rights or that of minority groups within the country. There have not been any signs of remorse or reparations on the part of the Saudi Arabia. If it has, it would have promoted that as well.
Regardless of the social, political and cultural climate of Saudi Arabia should fans put aside what they think about the country? Does the sportswashing normalize Saudi Arabia regardless of what is going on in the country.
Time will tell to see if these events translate into a healthy partnership or if at some point Saudi Arabia’s continued political and social influences will creep in.
Post originally on Patreon.
