Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Admitted This ‘Mistake’ To Tom Brady Sr.

Tom Brady's return to New England last September was a day of celebration for the former Patriots quarterback, but a dash of remorse was sprinkled into the joy and nostalgia.

A contingency of Brady's family made the trip to Gillette Stadium for the 2023 season opener when the seven-time Super Bowl champion was honored at halftime. And according to one of those attendees, team owner Robert Kraft vocalized regret for the Patriots' franchise-altering decision to let Brady walk after the 2019 season.

"He just said, 'I made a mistake.' He told us that back in September," Tom Brady Sr. told The Boston Globe's Christopher Gasper. "We don't all make the right decisions, but he's made a hell of a lot of good ones over the years. But I know that it galls him that Tommy went elsewhere and won. Not that he won, but that he won after Bill (Belichick) said he was done."

A similar anecdote was included in ESPN's recent revelatory column about the rise and fall of the Patriots dynasty. According to Seth Wickersham, Kraft needled Belichick after Brady won a Super Bowl in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Kraft's "mistake" was made more apparent as New England went deeper into decline and Brady put together two more great seasons before retiring. Belichick now is out of the picture in Foxboro, Mass., and Kraft will have to make more tough decisions as he tries to restore the success the Patriots experienced when Brady was behind center.