How much is New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady worth to his team? According to several linemakers, five to six-and-a-half points.
After it was announced Monday afternoon that Brady will be suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season for the role that he played in Deflate-gate, R.J. Bell of pregame.com reported that the Patriots went from being six-point favorites over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2015 Thursday night season-opener to only being favored by one-point on his site.
#Patriots now -1 hosting #Steelers on opening night. NE was -6 with Brady.
— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) May 11, 2015
Additionally, the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino now has the Steelers-Patriots opener as a pick ’em game after initially having the home team favored by 6.5-points.
New England’s possible Week 1 betting line vs Pittsburgh (via @Westgate_LV): • With Tom Brady: -6.5 favorites • Without Brady: Pick’em
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 11, 2015
The game will be played at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 7 and in front of a national television audience. Assuming that Brady doesn’t have his suspension overturned via the appeal process, Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be forced to make his first career start against the Steelers.