Why Are Tom Brady and Logan Paul Feuding? Everything to Know After Viral Podcast Moment

Tom Brady and Logan Paul's full-blown rumble has escalated to a whole new level.

The pair's months-long feud hit a boiling point when the retired Tampa Bay Buccaneers player slapped Paul across the face during Fanatics Fest in New York City on July 17. Their bad blood had already been intensifying amid public jabs and a heated flag football showdown, as rumors of a possible WWE payoff continued to swirl.

From the podcast barbs to their explosive clashes, here's everything to know so far about Brady and Paul's escalating back-and-forth.

The tension between them began when the seven-time Super Bowl winner appeared on the February 10 episode of Paul's "Impaulsive" podcast ahead of their involvement in the upcoming Fanatics Flag Football Classic event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 21.

"I'm told that I'm being flown out to Saudi Arabia to compete in a Fanatics flag football game with you," the boxer said, to which Brady responded, "I'm actually a little worried for you because you're a good athlete, but these guys are on another level."

As the atmosphere became intense, Paul firmly told Brady he is in "the highest level."

"I'm the level," he added, noting his high school football background and WWE performances are proof of his skills.

"No, you're not the level," Brady disagreed. "You're a good athlete, but when I'm thinking of Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham, Justin Jefferson… it's cute. I love WWE, it's very cute, but this is like real football, this is real competition."

Paul interjected, saying, "Can Saquon Barkley do a flip off of the top rope? Have you not seen a moonsault off the top rope?"

The quarterback, who bluntly said WWE is "very cute," snapped back: "But honestly, this is like real football. This is real competition."

"I was an all-state linebacker. I rushed for 1,200 yards, 19 touchdowns my senior year," said Paul, though Brady immediately brushed it aside.

"Look, we all had our great paths. I won seven Super Bowls... you know what matters? This game. ... I'm glad you're finally going to participate in a contest that matters," he snapped back.

The influencer replied, "This guy's insane. The audacity of Tom Brady. I can't believe it. He wins seven Super Bowls and thinks he can go around talk about his flag football game like it's going to be the Pro Bowl."

"It's going to be way better than that," Brady maintained.

After the podcast moment went viral, Brady took to X and clarified a few things.

"I hope people understand the level of competition this game is going to be. If you're on my team you're going to be locked in, all out, and we're going to not just win... but dominate," he declared. "I do think @loganpaul has the right attitude and the effort will be there. How far that gets him will remain to be seen."

A few moments later, Brady retweeted his post alongside the text, "I was having a great morning and now I'm mad."

The tense back-and-forth was quickly carried over online when Paul posted a reel that showed him watching the episode, highlighting the part where Brady talked about the Philadelphia Eagles running back.

He then uploaded a video of himself doing football moves, including a recreation of Barkley's backwards hurdle jump.

Paul kept the feud going with a video compilation of his remarkable WWE moments, writing, "The NFL is cute @TomBrady."

In another episode of his podcast, Paul stated he'd be "more athletic" if one put him and Brady up "athletically against one another in a majority of sports."

He added, "He used the word 'cute' when talking about the WWE. I think in many ways, football is also cute because I'm a boxer and you can put most NFL players and basketball players in a ring and they'll get their a---- kicked by real boxers."

"I think, all around, most NFL players are better athletes than most WWE superstars, but I'm not sure that we could switch roles and it would be easy for either side," Paul continued. "Every sport, at the highest level, takes an insane level of dedication and specificity and skill set that you can't quite translate or copy and paste one into the other."

Following Brady and Paul's heated debate, WWE stars at the WWE 2K Creator Fest came forward with scathing remarks for the five-time Super Bowl MVP.

World Heavyweight champion CM Punk said, "What's wrong with cute? I'm cute, Tom."

"I don't get annoyed. It just comes from a place of ignorance," WWE champ Drew McIntyre responded.

Meanwhile, Paul Heyman questioned what Brady has done, adding, "He's thrown a football across a field that was caught by [Rob] Gronkowski… Gronkowski deserves the credit. [Bill] Belichick and his girlfriend deserve the credit. But Tom Brady..."

Former two-time NXT champion Oba Femi also joined the conversation, daring Brady to see if he could survive the brutal training that comes with professional wrestling.

On X, Heyman said he and Paul would easily outmatch Brady on their turf.

"If @TomBrady thinks @NikkiGlaser ripped him up at the Roast, he has no idea what @LoganPaul and I would do to him on the mic in front of a live @WWE audience on @Netflix!" the wrestling manager said.

The duo's heated exchanges continued in the weeks before the flag football event, with Brady calling Paul a "b----" as he told him to "come play with the big boys."

"You're lucky you won't get hit," the NFL GOAT added.

In an episode of his show, Paul said he "wouldn't be surprise" if he would throw hands with Brady during the game.

"I'm not kidding. Tom Brady does not want to throw hands," he threatened.

Then, on March 17, Brady joked to Jimmy Fallon that Paul was "not really a great athlete." He also claimed several NFL players had told him they wanted to humble the wrestler, per TMZ.

"I'm like, 'Guys, chill out,'" he continued. "'We're not committing any crimes against Logan Paul.'"

Brady and Paul's flare-ups briefly cooled down when their respective teams faced off during the inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic on March 21. The influencer's Wildcats FFC defeated Brady's Founders, though Team USA ultimately emerged as the tournament champion.

During the postgame press conference, Brady told Fox News Digital Paul "impressed [him] out there."

He continued, "To watch what he and his brother have done … you know, there's a lot of tit-for-tat stuff but I do have respect for people that are really driven to succeed. I'm a firm believer in you don't wait for things to happen, you make it happen. And if you want positive things to happen in your life, you go for it and you're fearless and you don't settle for a backup plan. He really displayed that today."

On the other hand, Paul sarcastically apologized to the Patriots legend in a social media post.

"I'd like to apologize to Tom Brady for applying so much pressure on you play after play after play that had you literally fearing for your life,” he said. "I understand you're older, it's not like you could go anywhere, and you got frustrated, which is why you threw the ball at me. And I want you to know that I forgive you for that, because that's what real men do."

After months of dormancy, the rivalry reached an all-time high when Brady slapped Paul onstage at Fanatics Fest in New York City on July 17.

In a viral social media video, the duo traded words before the Brady Brand Clothing owner smacked Paul, prompting the vlogger to pull away. Karl-Anthony Towns was also forced to prevent the situation from escalating further

After the altercation, the professional wrestler took to X to share his side of the story.

"This happened bc I was roasting Tom for beating him in flag football. And he tries to smack me ?? Horrible example for the kids. Aura -100 + Blocked. With a torn tricep," Paul wrote.

Brady responded, "I tried America… will try again next time I see this nerd. Dork."