Tom Brady ultimately has decided to part ways with the New England Patriots. But the reasoning behind his announcement has a lot to it.
The quarterback shocked the Northeast on Tuesday when he announced he’d be leaving the Patriots after 20 years and head to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While there are a number of factors that contributed to his decision, it reportedly traces back to the fall of 2017, according to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham.
“He made it very clear publicly and privately about his desire to play until his mid 40s and he wanted a contract, a commitment from a team — it didn’t have to be the Patriots. He preferred it to be the Patriots,” Wickersham said on ESPN’s “Get Up!” on Monday morning.
“And at the end of the day that contract never came. It didn’t come in August of 2018, it didn’t come in August of 2019 and I think that’s the reason why at the end of the day he wanted to move on.”
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Most tend to assume it’s the owners who make all the decisions. That wasn’t the case for the Patriots, though. Amidst the speculation, head coach Bill Belichick reportedly was driving the decision.
“This isn’t a usual situation here,” Wickersham said. “You’re dealing with a quarterback who’s very extreme in that he wants to play until he’s 45 years old. His dad once told me that Tom was going to be a modern day George Blanda. Then you have Bill Bellichick who part of his genius is knowing exactly when to move on from players.”
With that, the Patriots and Brady apparently didn’t see eye to eye on the concept. Brady was seeking security and wanted to be locked into a contract, while Belichick wanted the opposite.
“I think there’s a chance he would’ve been a New England Patriot if they had just said, ‘Look, we want you here. We want you here for two years.’ But both men stood their ground,” Wickersham said. “Tom was resolute about playing into his mid 40’s, and Belichick was resolute that this was a year-to-year situation, and that’s the way it went.
“As much as the personal relationship might have been icy and is icy right now, I think Tom would’ve dealt with it if he felt like they were willing to give him that commitment.”
Although the Buccaneers can provide Brady with that opportunity, the team certainly is positioned differently than the Patriots. The Bucs haven’t made the postseason since 2007. However, it’s possible Brady could be what the team needs to turn things around.
