Why does Tom Brady wear black paint under his eye? Super Bowl secret revealed
TOM BRADY is going for his sixth Super Bowl ring against the LA Rams tonight, but why does he wear black paint under his eye?
The 41-year-old will lead the Patriots out at their fourth Super Bowl in five years.
Brady is commonly regarded as one of the best players in NFL history, and has been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player four times.
He has a very distinguished look, thanks to his trademark #12, which he has worn throughout his career, and his black paint below his eyes.
But why does he wear the black strips and what do they do?
Brady wears eyeblack, which is common among American athletes.
The two lines are strips of what is essentially lip balm, designed to reduce glare from floodlights.
As the quarterback, Brady needs to be able to see everything in front of him, and not have his vision impaired at all.
And the eyeblack is what allows him to do that, by absorbing the light that would otherwise hit his eyes.
While it is more commonly worn during daytime days, due to the glare of the sun, it is also popular when playing under floodlights.
At the $1.6billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the floodlights are in a ring above Brady, meaning he will need to wear the eyeblack.
It is not just Brady who uses it, however.
His New England Patriots team-mate Rob Gronkowski famously uses it.
Does eyeblack actually work?
The product appeared on American show Mythbusters, and it was found that it does not eliminate glare.
Instead, it improves an athlete’s ability to determine between light and dark in their vision, therefore improving their object tracking in sunny or bright environments.