Tom Brady said he's not rooting either way in Sunday's Super Bowl. (AP photo)

SAN FRANCISCO – His name hangs over the Super Bowl always, because it’s always been his game.

And this is his area.

Former Patriots great Tom Brady says he doesnt “have a dog in the fight” that is Super Bowl LX, but when you win six rings wearing the uniform of one of the teams involved, winning three of them with its current head coach, well, one has to wonder.

“Yeah, well, I think there’s always different chapters in your life and you have different chapters and moments that you go through where you’re affiliated with a certain team,” Brady said during the weekly Sirius XM ‘Let’s Go’ interview with Jim Gray. “At Michigan, and then I was with the Patriots for 20 years. I was with Tampa for three amazing years.

“I’ve been in broadcasting. Now I’m an owner of the Raiders. So those memories that I have are forever ingrained in me, and I’m indebted to all the people who worked so hard to help make our team successful. And now in a different phase in my life, I really root for people and the people I care about, the people who I know the work that goes into what they’re trying to accomplish. So I really wanna sit back as a fan and enjoy the game, enjoy the moment.”

But Brady has to have some feeling toward New England with his former offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, also on the Patriots sideline for this one.

“A great friend of mine as well,” Brady said. “And again, you root for people and you want them to have great performances. … I just wanna see good football. I wanna see good plays, good throws, good strategy, good decisions.”

Brady knows that he’s seeing a rebirth with the Patriots, who had struggled ever since he left as a free agent in 2020.

“This is a new chapter in New England,” he said, “and I’m glad everyone’s embraced the Mike Vrabel regime, all the amazing players that have worked so hard to get their club to this position. We did it for 20 years. There was a little bit of a hiatus in there, but the Patriots are back and it’s a very exciting time for everyone in New England.”

Vrabel has worked hard at football, Brad said.

“He’s always been, I would say, a student of the game,” he said. “His attention to details is pretty unmatched. And I think he was a guy that was able to do a lot of different things over the course of his career. … He just loved football and he loved competition. Then he retired from playing and went on to a coaching career where I would say he worked his way up the system, was a linebacker coach, moved on to call plays, then became a head coach, was at the college level, at the pro level.”

In other words, he learned as he climbed the ladder. Vrabel was prepared when he first became a head coach with Tennessee.

“I think he just has done everything the right way,” Brady said. “And he’s been a great leader. You know, Mike’s got a big personality and I think you always kind of know where you stand with him. Tennessee let him go. The Patriots are right there to embrace him back from being a player at one point to now a coach.

“And I think it’s so smart because you want to be able to bring back what the values of that team, you know, how we kind of built the values of that team.”

Especially that 2002 Super Bowl champion team.

“We always talk about culture and the culture was built by a group of men that came together to put aside a lot of individual goals in sacrifice of what the team was trying to pursue,” Brady said. “Mike has very much brought that back.”

Because most of the games he does for FOX are in the NFC, Brady said he hasn’t seen much of Patriots QB Drake Maye, now in his second year – like Brady was when he went to his first Super Bowl.

“I’ve watched maybe over the course of his career, 15 of his plays. I just have not seen the Patriots play much at all,” Brady said. “Obviously he’s a great young player.

“Drake has done everything that the team has asked him to do. He’s done a great job running the offense, making plays with his legs. He’s a really good downfield passer, I know that about him. Drake has a lot of great physical, mental and emotional tools that I think allow him to be successful.”

Maye says he knows there’s a legacy he’s following.

“I appreciate (Brady’s) greatness,” Maye said. “What he did for my team that I play for now, what he did for football. What he’s done for my position that I play. Respect for how he played the game, how he wanted to win so bad, how he carried his teammates, how he led his teammates, how he approached the sport. I pay respect to him, not try to be him. I just try to be myself.”

“I don’t have a dog in the fight in this one,” Brady said. “May the best team win.”