FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- On the first full day that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady begins serving a four-game suspension, the club paid tribute to him Sunday by putting his image on the lighthouse at Gillette Stadium, as well as his No. 12 atop the lighthouse.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 4, 2016
This is a wonderful tribute this morning at @GilletteStadium for Tom Brady by the Patriots organization. pic.twitter.com/w7augSWUYx
— Russ Goldman (@Russ_Goldman) September 4, 2016
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton noted the Patriots' gesture on his Twitter account. Payton is an ally of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and the two teams have found themselves at odds with the NFL more than any other franchises over the past decade. Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season as part of the NFL’s severe Bountygate punishments -- making him the first head coach ever to be suspended for even one game.
That year, the Saints paid a similar tribute to Payton with a giant poster of him in the team’s practice facility.
Brady spent the final hours before the suspension began at 4 p.m. ET Saturday with teammates at Patriots owner Robert Kraft's home on Cape Cod. Kraft annually hosts all players and their families on that day.
