Brady Celebrates Roethlisberger Upon Steelers QB's Retirement: 'Ben Defied The TB12 Method'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Longtime Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger formally announced his retirement on Thursday. The news -- which has been expected -- obviously brought about many tributes from around the football world.
That included a message of celebration and praise from a former AFC adversary, in Tom Brady.
Though Brady and Roethlisberger have taken slightly different approached to health and fitness over the past two decades, the 44-year-old Brady showed his appreciation for the way that Roethlisberger navigated his football career.
"Ben defied the TB12 Method in favor of the 'Throw Some Ice On It' method his whole career," Brady tweeted, "and ended up an all-time-great with 6 Pro-Bowls and 2 Super Bowls."
Brady added: "There's more than one way to bake a cake!"
Brady's strict dietary restrictions likely limit him from baking too many cakes, but the message delivered was nevertheless clear.
Brady and Roethlisberger met head-to-head 12 times in their careers, with Brady and the Patriots winning nine of those games. Two of those meetings came in the AFC Championship Game -- one in Pittsburgh in 2004, the other in Foxboro in 2016 -- with the Patriots winning both.
Brady and the Patriots clearly got the better of Big Ben and the Steelers over the years, but Brady clearly developed plenty of respect for his fellow quarterback.