Six Patriots Super Bowls. One Defiant Finger.
A Lombardi Trophy, the familiar No. 12 jersey and a rebellious gesture bring back a real chapter of Patriots history: the 2017 “Roger That” parade and the complicated relationship between Tom Brady, the NFL and New England’s championship culture.
Tom Brady did not need to raise his middle finger to make the New England Patriots’ 2017 Super Bowl celebration controversial. A T-shirt draped across his parade vehicle did the talking. Its design showed five championship rings, with the newest one placed on the middle finger beside the words “Roger That.”
The moment took place on February 7, 2017, two days after Brady and the Patriots overcame a 28–3 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons and won Super Bowl LI in overtime. Its meaning was inseparable from Deflategate, the four-game suspension Brady had served at the beginning of that season, and the fans who viewed the championship as an answer to the controversy.
Nearly a decade later, the same mixture of championship pride and provocative humor remains recognizable. A new Patriots-inspired meme artwork goes a step further, portraying Brady in his No. 12 jersey holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy, with a cigarette-like prop and a raised middle finger. The picture is an exaggerated fan creation, but the attitude has a genuine historical reference.
Why Did the Patriots’ 2017 “Roger That” Parade Become So Memorable?
The Patriots entered the 2016 season without Brady for four games. The suspension followed the NFL’s investigation into football inflation during the 2014 AFC Championship Game. Brady denied wrongdoing, while the legal and sporting dispute remained fiercely debated.
He returned on October 9, 2016, against Cleveland, throwing for 406 yards and three touchdowns in a 33–13 victory. Exactly ten years later, that return has become part of the historical discussion surrounding his career, including renewed reporting published in October 2026.
New England finished the season by reaching Super Bowl LI, where Atlanta built a 28–3 lead. Brady then led the Patriots to an improbable 34–28 overtime victory, securing his fifth championship with the franchise.
The victory generated an unusually sharp relationship between celebration and controversy. Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had imposed the suspension, participated in the postgame trophy presentation while Patriots supporters expressed their disapproval.
During the Boston parade, the “Roger That” design appeared on Brady’s float. According to contemporary coverage by NBC Sports and The Boston Globe, its fifth ring was positioned on a raised middle finger, widely interpreted as a joke aimed at Goodell.
That is the documented visual reference. It was the graphic on the parade vehicle, not a verified photograph of Brady simultaneously holding the trophy and making the gesture shown on the present-day shirt.
For Patriots fans, the 2017 championship turned a season of controversy into one of the most recognizable victory celebrations in NFL history.
How Did Tom Brady’s Lombardi Trophy Legacy Grow Beyond That Moment?
The 2017 championship was not the end of the Patriots dynasty. Two years later, New England defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3 in Super Bowl LIII, adding a sixth franchise championship and giving Brady his sixth Super Bowl ring.
Brady ultimately won seven Super Bowls during his NFL career, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ victory following the 2020 season. But six of those championships came with New England, where his partnership with Bill Belichick shaped one of football’s defining modern eras.
The Lombardi Trophy therefore has an unusual role in Brady-related artwork. It is not a speculative championship symbol or a promise of future success. It represents a documented record that supporters and rivals have spent years debating and comparing.
Why Does the Tom Brady Middle Finger Meme Work as Football Satire?
The Tom Brady Middle Finger Shirt combines three instantly recognizable visual signals: the navy New England Patriots jersey with No. 12, the silver Lombardi Trophy and a confrontational hand gesture.
A cigarette-like object adds an intentionally exaggerated sense of nonchalance. Brady’s expression is comparatively serious, allowing the props and gesture to create the humor.
A provocative football parody that combines New England’s championship iconography with the irreverent visual language of sports memes.
Explore the trophy artwork →The composition is surprisingly restrained. There is no bold headline, year, score or additional background illustration. The portrait occupies the center of a plain black shirt, allowing the trophy’s metallic texture to contrast with the navy uniform and the skin tones of the figure.
The foreground hand and the trophy form opposing visual points: a gesture of rebellion on one side and the established symbol of NFL achievement on the other. That tension creates the joke. It imagines a version of Brady who answers years of criticism with championships and one deliberately rude expression.
The shirt is a digitally styled satirical portrayal, not a verified photograph of Brady smoking, raising his middle finger and holding the Lombardi Trophy in one scene. It is also not an official Patriots or NFL promotional image.
How Did the Real Patriots Dynasty Give This Joke Its Meaning?
Brady and New England won three Super Bowls in four seasons, establishing a championship identity that would define the franchise.
Deflategate became a major debate, Brady served a four-game suspension in 2016, and New England completed its historic comeback against Atlanta in February 2017.
The Patriots’ 13–3 victory over the Rams delivered their sixth Super Bowl championship.
The tenth anniversary of Brady’s return from suspension provides a timely reason to reconsider how that era shaped Patriots fan culture.
The meaning is not the same for every football audience. New England supporters may see the image as playful championship defiance. Rival fans may read it as an exaggeration of the confidence and dominance that made the Patriots such a polarizing team.
That difference in interpretation is what allows the artwork to function as a meme rather than a conventional historical portrait.
How Do Patriots Fans Remember Brady’s Most Iconic Images in 2026?
A February 2026 discussion in r/Patriots asked fans to nominate the most iconic photograph in franchise history. Responses revisited Brady under falling confetti, the scoreboard from the 28–3 comeback and other images associated with the team’s championship runs.
The conversation was not about this particular shirt, and it does not demonstrate that the new design has independently gone viral. It does show the importance of recognizable imagery to how Patriots fans preserve Brady’s legacy.
The original “Roger That” image occupies a different position in that history. It is a reminder of how a championship celebration can absorb tensions surrounding league authority and transform them into a graphic that supporters remember.
Readers exploring the dynasty’s visual history can find related designs in the New England Patriots collection. The broader NFL collection connects those moments with football rivalries and other championship narratives, while Tom Brady designs follow his individual career.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Tom Brady really wear a middle finger shirt at the Patriots parade?
During the February 7, 2017 Patriots parade, a “Roger That” shirt was displayed on Brady’s vehicle featuring five Super Bowl rings, with the fifth placed on a raised middle finger.
Why was the 2017 Roger That shirt controversial?
Its middle-finger imagery was widely interpreted as a jab at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell following Brady’s Deflategate suspension and Super Bowl LI victory.
How many Super Bowls did Brady win with the Patriots?
Brady won six Super Bowl championships with New England and seven in his entire NFL career, including one with Tampa Bay.
Is the Tom Brady middle finger trophy image authentic?
The artwork is a satirical composite, not an authenticated photograph of Brady holding the trophy, smoking and making the gesture together.
What does the Lombardi Trophy represent in the design?
It references Brady’s documented Super Bowl championship legacy and provides a visual contrast to the exaggerated rebellious gesture.
The Tom Brady Trophy Meme transforms championship history into provocative fan satire, connecting the iconic No. 12 jersey, Lombardi Trophy and the real cultural memory of the 2017 “Roger That” parade.
Tom Brady Middle Finger Shirt reimagines the legendary Patriots No. 12 with a Lombardi Trophy, provocative gesture and cigarette-like prop. This satirical football artwork connects New England’s six Super Bowl championships with the real “Roger That” middle-finger ring graphic from the 2017 victory parade.