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          Patriots pay tribute to Tom Brady on lighthouse at Gillette Stadium

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          Patriots ensure Brady's presence won't be forgotten during suspension (0:51)

          Dan Graziano and Herm Edwards react to the Patriots putting up a large image of Tom Brady on the lighthouse at Gillette Stadium. (0:51)

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterSep 4, 2016, 01:08 PM
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- On the first full day that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady begins serving a four-game suspension, the club paid tribute to him Sunday by putting his image on the lighthouse at Gillette Stadium, as well as his No. 12 atop the lighthouse.

          New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton noted the Patriots' gesture on his Twitter account. Payton is an ally of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and the two teams have found themselves at odds with the NFL more than any other franchises over the past decade. Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season as part of the NFL’s severe Bountygate punishments -- making him the first head coach ever to be suspended for even one game.

          That year, the Saints paid a similar tribute to Payton with a giant poster of him in the team’s practice facility.

          Brady spent the final hours before the suspension began at 4 p.m. ET Saturday with teammates at Patriots owner Robert Kraft's home on Cape Cod. Kraft annually hosts all players and their families on that day.