Tom Brady is planning to suit up for the New England Patriots in 2019 and “hopefully beyond.” But in order to do that, Brady and the Patriots will need to work on a contract extension past next season.
Patriots president Jonathan Kraft was asked Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand” about the possibility of the team and the 41-year-old quarterback working on an extension. Kraft’s answer left a little to be desired.
“Tom is under contract for next year, and I think hopefully people have seen there’s a real understanding between all of us about how that situation is going to work into the future,” Kraft said, via NBC Sports Boston.
Kraft gave a long pause before offering an answer, but that apparently was due to a lack of words with which to detail Brady’s prolonged greatness.
“I’m only hesitating because there aren’t any adjectives to describe how exceptional he is,” Kraft said. “Anybody who doubts that doesn’t understand things.”
Brady has had a subpar season by his standards at age 41. But after trading Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers last season, the Patriots have no one to succeed Brady at quarterback. As Brady approaches age 42, it’s fair to wonder at one point New England might be reticent to offer the aging signal-caller a long-term extension, but for now it obviously is Brady’s team.
“We’re so lucky to have him as the quarterback and the leader of our football team,” Kraft said, via MassLive. “He was the MVP of the league last year. He said last week ‘all I care about is wins.’ That’s why he’s Tom Brady and that’s why you wouldn’t want anybody else quarterbacking your football team.”
The Patriots earned a first-round bye in the playoff for the ninth consecutive season. They will face the winner of the Baltimore Ravens-Los Angeles Chargers on Jan. 13 at Gillette Stadium.
