The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren’t the only ones to get battered and beaten during a “Sunday Night Football” game this week. Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet was once again hit hard on the sidelines.
NFL star Tom Brady showed his frustration during a 9-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints — Brady’s first shutout loss in more than 15 years. The quarterback was caught on the Bucs’ bench hurling a Surface over his shoulder, and the clip ended up all over Twitter.
“Those Microsoft tablets have taken some blows over the years,” said “Sunday Night Football” analyst Cris Collinsworth.
Microsoft is an official partner of the NFL, and its Surface Tablets have been used by coaches and players since 2013 to review plays. It’s a high-profile sponsorship for the tech giant and its hardware, as fans see the tablets being used during broadcasts every week.
They also see the devices being abused. Brady was certainly not the first.
Brady’s former coach in New England, Bill Belichick, is among those who have previously slammed the Surface during a game. Panos Panay, a chief product officer at Microsoft, said in 2019 to not worry about the Surface Pro getting manhandled and that Microsoft quality tests for that exact scenario.
Related: Surface saver: How Microsoft’s deal with the NFL turned into a marketing boon for its tablet