TAMPA, Fla. — Nine days before his highly anticipated return to Foxborough, Tom Brady remains New England’s favorite son to many in Massachusetts.
But the adoration doesn’t exactly stretch across time zones.
A social media study conducted by BetOnline found that the 44-year-old Bucs quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion is the NFL’s most-disliked player in 36 states. Brady’s current Bucs teammate, Antonio Brown, ranks second on the list, owning the distinction in six states.
The most disliked player in Florida? Former FSU and Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston, who signed with the Saints two springs ago after five turbulent seasons in Tampa Bay.
A news release issued by SVP Publicity indicated that BetOnline tracked Twitter data for more than a month (more than 130,000 tweets) based on geotags, hashtags and direct keyword associations related to fans’ disdain for NFL players.
The three other players recognized: Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (four states), Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (two states) and Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson who, interestingly enough, is most disliked only in the home state of his own team (Texas).
While Brady naturally is the most disliked player in each of the three states that are home to his NFC South division rivals (Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana), he also essentially has the monopoly on the entire Mountain and Pacific time zones.
