Tom Brady wasn't a normal NFL player, and the Logan Paul 'feud' shows he isn't a normal team owner either

First off, kudos to everyone for immediately understanding that whatever you want to call it between Tom Brady and Logan Paul is a shoot, in pro wrestling terms.

Even if Brady and Paul probably don't hate each other in real life, people are paying attention to them trying to convince everyone they have a feud. Crazy stunts for attention is a common angle for the Paul brothers. And we're figuring out that it might be normal for Brady in his retirement as a player.

For those who aren't aware, Brady slapped Logan Paul on stage at Fanatics Fest last week, amid some social media back and forth between the two. It was happily shared by WWE, which is your hint of how real this might be.

Then Brady and Paul were conveniently caught on video flipping each other off at the World Cup final on Sunday. Paul did a better job acting like he was angry, if we're giving points.

This is all standard fare for Paul, who with his brother Jake have built a massive social media presence and turned that into stints in WWE and boxing, respectively. It is a bit unusual for Brady, and there has been plenty of angst over the greatest quarterback in NFL history getting into kayfabe with an online influencer. He's already angling to get in the ring.

Brady seems insistent on being more than just a boring ex-quarterback who's happy to own part of an NFL team due to his name and legacy in football. So be it.

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Tom Brady's not the first NFL/WWE crossover

It's not like Brady is the first person to cross over from football to a cameo in wrestling. Lawrence Taylor headlined WrestleMania 11. Rob Gronkowski won the WWE's 24/7 championship at WrestleMania 36. A few high-profile football players, most notably William Perry, took part in a battle royal at WrestleMania 2.

If this is all setting up for Brady to wrestle against Paul at SummerSlam or the next WrestleMania or get in a tag team match with Gronk to take on the Pauls at Survivor Series or whatever is being cooked up, it's nothing new and it's certainly not beneath Brady or any other athlete. Being an NFL quarterback is treated like a sacred position, but let's also not go overboard.

It might be a bit cringy to see the NFL's only seven-time Super Bowl champion giving the bird to Logan Paul at the biggest game in the world last weekend, but there are worse midlife crises than being featured in a WWE main event.

Brady is doing this post-retirement thing his way, and he doesn't seem to mind much if that bothers anyone.

Brady is still in the public eye

Brady had a career that is unique in American sports. He became arguably the greatest player in his sport — certainly the most decorated — after being an afterthought as a seventh-round draft pick. He was also part of a Patriots' dynasty that made sure players rarely showed any personality in public.

Brady is making up for that lost time. He's playing a big role as a limited owner of the Raiders. He's making a record amount of money as a Fox announcer, and made the NFL bend its rules about owners for him to stay in that job. He's still funny on social media. Among his side projects is being the face of an annual flag football event. Now, apparently, he's slapping WWE wrestlers and preparing to get in the ring as he nears age 50.

Becoming overexposed in retirement might make Brady a heel for the second time in his life, after fans turned on him and the Patriots dynasty. He doesn't really seem to care. At Fanatics Fest he was asked if he'd rather be a wrestling babyface (good guy) or heel (bad guy) by WWE superstar Cody Rhodes.

"It's such an easy choice — I'm a bad guy," Brady said. "I've always been a bad guy."

What's obvious by now is that Brady never planned to retire from an all-time great career and then fade into obscurity. He might not be wrestling on Saturday Night's Main Event 10 years from now, but he'll find something to keep himself occupied and in the public eye.

You might have thought you were done booing Brady as the bad guy. He had other plans.