NFL Insider Compares Previous Tom Brady Contract To Bill Belichick Situation

There might be more to Bill Belichick’s new contract than what meets the eye, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported last Sunday the longtime Patriots coach agreed to a “lucrative” and “multi-year” new contract this offseason. However, Rapoport’s initial reporting, and his follow-up Monday which stated the deal tied Belichick to New England for the “next several years,” has caused many to read between the lines.

Breer is among them. The longtime NFL insider offered his own insight Sunday morning before the Patriots faced the Miami Dolphins in a Week 8 game at Hard Rock Stadium. Breer even drew a comparison to Tom Brady’s final contract with the Patriots.

“If you go back and look at the initial reports last week of the contract, there’s one word you didn’t hear and that’s ‘extension.’ Because it wasn’t an extension. This, my understanding, was a new deal,” Breer said on NBC Sports Boston. “And whether or not it was through 2024 or 2025, effectively, my understanding is it changes nothing.

“And if it is only through 2024, well, this sets up a little bit like the Tom Brady situation four years ago.”

Breer recalled how the Brady contract initially was “trumpeted” as an extension. However, after learning the inner workings of the deal, it actually made it more likely, not less likely, that Brady would go elsewhere after the 2019 campaign. Obviously, that’s how it ended up playing out.

Albert Breer provides some insight on developing reports about Bill Belichick's contract 🗣️@AlbertBreer pic.twitter.com/IWQA1Ze1hZ

— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) October 29, 2023

“I look at this pretty much the same way,” Breer said. “If 2024 is indeed a contract year, then they have a decision to make after this year.”

Breer noted teams, at least generally, will make a decision on a coach before said coach enters a “lame-duck year.” He assumes the Patriots will want to do the same.

“If this is a two-year new deal and not an extension, and he’s signed through ’23 and ’24, well, then what we’re talking about is the Patriots having a decision to make on their coach after this year,” he said.

“It is normal in the NFL to eat a year or two of a coach’s contract and get rid of him if an owner decides that. And so Robert Kraft’s decision coming, that we’ve all been waiting for on Bill Belichick after this year, that’s still very much in play. I don’t think the contract affects that much at all.”

ESPN’s Adam Schefter previously shared Belichick’s contract won’t have any impact on his job security. Plugged-in Patriots reporter Tom E. Curran also said he would be “stunned” if Belichick’s contract ran past 2024.