5 NFL rivals who hated each other’s guts

NFL Rivals Who Hated Each Other

#3 - Richard Sherman and Michael Crabtree

San Francisco 49ers v Seattle Seahawks

This is Crabtree’s second appareance on this list, while it won’t be the last we hear of former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.

During the 2014 NFC Championship between Crabtree’s 49ers and Sherman’s Seahawks, the latter deflated a Colin Kaepernick pass intended for Crabtree which was intercepted, effectively ending the fame and sending Seattle to the Super Bowl.

Following the conclusion of the game, a highly emotional Sherman was interviewed by Fox and the infamous line was aired: “When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the results you gon’ get. I’m the best corner in the game!”

Following this, the NFL learned that this beef had started a year earlier at a charity softball game organized by Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, with conflicting reports that both players tried to start a fight with one another.

#2 - Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson

Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson fight

You’re unlikely to see an NFL fight compilation without seeing the infamous tussle between Titans’ Cortland Finnegan and Texans’ Andre Johnson. Finnegan had already been fined twice for his dirty play during the 2010 season before this matchup, and some argued he had this coming.

After taunting Johnson throughout the game, he finally snapped, ripping off Finnegan’s helmet and landing two punches before the pair were separated. Finnegan mocked this by sarcastically applauding both Johnson and the Texans fans as the pair were ejected from the game.

"I would like to apologize to the organization, our owner, and my teammates," Johnson said. "What happened out there today was not me. I just lost my cool, and I wish that I could take back what happened, but I can't. It's over and done with now.”

#1 - Tom Brady and Richard Sherman

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New England Patriots

Finally, we have two of the most polarizing players in NFL history, Tom Brady and Richard Sherman. Back in 2012, while Brady was with the Patriots and Sherman was a Seahawk, Seattle came from behind to defeat New England at CenturyLink Field.

Following the game, Sherman shouted “U mad, bro?” to Brady and followed it up with a tweet with the same message, which was later deleted.

However, the trash-talk continued with Sherman saying: “Me and Earl (Thomas) walked up to him and said, ‘We’re greater than you. We’re better than you. You’re just a man — we’re a team.’ That’s the Brady Bunch; this is a defense.”

It is possible that this feud has now been quashed, however, with Brady overcoming Sherman and the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, and the fact Brady and Sherman shared a locker room as teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.