Brady, Gronk Appear In Super Bowl Ad To Celebrate NFL's 100th Season
ATLANTA (CBS/AP) — New England Patriots stars Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski made appearances in a Super Bowl ad celebrating the history of the NFL. The two-minute commercial titled "The 100-Year Game" paid homage to past and present players including Brady, Jim Brown, Joe Montana, Dick Butkus, Deion Sanders and Patrick Mahomes.
Baker Mayfield, the Cleveland Brown's star rookie QB, tells Brady "get out there old man." TB12 responds appropriately by asking Mayfield to hold his five Super Bowl rings.
The commercial kicked off a yearlong campaign to celebrate the NFL's 100th season, which starts in September. The tribute featured more than 40 current and former NFL players including 19 Hall of Famers.
"I believe this will be good for the game," said ad director Peter Berg, an actor who directed "Friday Night Lights" and "Patriots Day." ''It was an emotional thing to see the totality of the sport of 100 years. You had the timeline of the NFL in one room."
The commercial kicks off with Marshawn Lynch knocking over a cake while NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gives a speech. It also shows Von Miller flipping Tony Gonzalez over into the cake; Mike Singletary yelling "fumble"; and Todd Gurley tossing a football to Barry Sanders.
Gamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, NFL official Sarah Thomas and announcer Beth Mowins are also featured in the commercial.
"It's a fun spot," Berg said. "It's meant to be wild and fun. There's a lot of funny stuff. Emmitt Smith was funny, and so was (Terry) Bradshaw."
Berg said the commercial took three days to film in Los Angeles. He initially didn't think he could pull it off.
The director said he believes the commercial will be good for the game of football.
"What I found special as a football fan was to see Saquon Barkley and Odell (Beckham) and Todd Gurley talking to LaDainian Tomlinson and Jim Brown," he said. "The young guys, middle age guys and older. To see Paul Warfield near Larry Csonka, talking to Barry Sanders."
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
