New England Patriots fans know there’ll be a day when Tom Brady isn’t the team’s quarterback. When and how he’ll go isn’t something people think about often.
With the careers of former Patriots stars like Randy Moss in mind, Mark Leibovich tried to tackle this question in a New York Times Magazine profile of the quarterback. Leibovich asked a few people if they believe Brady’s Patriots will end badly, and Tom Brady Sr.’s answer might surprise you.
“It will end badly,” Brady’s father said during the season. “It does end badly. And I know that because I know what Tommy wants to do. He wants to play till he’s 70.”
The signs are there. The Patriots took a quarterback in the second round of last year’s draft — the highest they’ve drafted one since Brady became the starter — and Brady will be 40 years old when his contract is up after the 2017 season. It’s difficult to commit to a 40-year-old quarterback, regardless of loyalty.
Patriots owner Bob Kraft wouldn’t directly answer Leibovich’s question and gave a rather cryptic response about what happens behind the scenes.
“With all due respect to the media, they don’t know what’s really going on,” Kraft said. “No one would believe what’s really going on.”
Still, Brady’s father believes that when it’s all said and done, it won’t matter that the quarterback has spent the past 15 years with the Patriots.
“It’s a cold business,” Brady Sr. said. “And for as much as you want it to be familial, it isn’t.”
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports
