It's a question that will persist long after both are finished with their respective careers: Was Bill Belichick or Tom Brady more responsible for the New England Patriots' unparalleled run of success?
Patriots owner Robert Kraft was asked for his take on that well-worn debate one day after Brady announced his retirement from the NFL. He answered in predictably diplomatic fashion.
"This is our 29th season (owning the team) we just completed, and we were privileged to go to ten Super Bowls and win six of them," Kraft said Thursday on "CNN This Morning." "And what I learned is: It's a lot of things. ... The sport of football and winning in it requires team effort like nothing else, which is so important for our society. And you need great stars like Belichick and Brady. But you need a lot of other people pulling in the same direction.
"In the end, though, to answer your question, you can't win if you don't have a good coach and a good quarterback. I was blessed to have both of (those), probably the best in the history of the game."
The Patriots won six Super Bowls and played in three others during Brady and Belichick's 20 seasons together, with the former adding another championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Though the 45-year-old quarterback finished his career in Tampa, Kraft said on CNN that he hopes Brady will sign a one-day contract this offseason to retire as a Patriot.
"You know, I think back, there's over 25,000 or 30,000 players who played football, how lucky are we up here in New England to have the greatest that's ever played -- and really played for us for 20 percent of the history of the league in 100-odd years," Kraft said. "I don't think there are too many quarterbacks that played for one team (for that many years)."
Kraft and Belichick both released glowing statements Wednesday celebrating Brady, who announced in a self-recorded video that he was retiring "for good."
"I am so proud of Tommy," Kraft's statement read. "He has accomplished everything there is to achieve in this game, and so much more. No player in NFL history has done it as well for as long as Tom Brady. He is the fiercest competitor I have ever known and the ultimate champion. ... He is one of the most loving, caring and passionate players I have ever known and I will always consider him a part of our family."
