'He was about as miserable and pissed off as a guy could be'
The football world had been led to believe the Patriots lost Tom Brady after the 2019 season because they weren’t willing to give him the contract he coveted.
According to the legendary quarterback himself, that wasn’t the case.
In “The Dynasty,” a new Apple TV+ docuseries that tackles New England’s iconic 20-year run, Brady revealed he already had made up his mind about his swan song in Foxboro, Mass. “Based on how things had gone down,” Brady was never going to sign another contract with the Patriots regardless of what the franchise offered.
During Wednesday’s edition of “Zolak & Bertrand” on 98.5 The Sports Hub, former New England quarterback and current team broadcaster Scott Zolak was asked if he believed Brady’s eye-opening revelation.
“I go back to when I sat down with them when they were 8-0 and we were down in Baltimore. And he was about as miserable and pissed off as a guy could be. Felt like a 1-7 team,” Zolak said, as transcribed by 98.5 The Sports Hub. “They were 8-0 before he lost that Sunday night game to Baltimore. Now, I think we ended up, what, 12-4 his last year? And lost in the wild-card round. If he could see the way it was being built, it sort of forecasted the lack of talent that was being picked, like the N’Keal Harry disaster. Then I would say, yeah, I believe him.
“But he also stood there at camp and said, ‘Why don’t you go talk to Mr. (Robert) Kraft?’ when he wanted the Drew Brees contract. They supposedly wanted to go year to year. And is that part of the building process? I think you have to factor that in, right? Their approach with him. ‘We want to go year to year. I don’t like where this is heading.’ And he knew who made the final call, so that’s where the blame goes. That’s a big one.”
The Brady-Belichick relationship is expected to be one of the most prominent topics in the 10-part docuseries. Kraft, who now oversees a franchise that doesn’t have Brady or Belichick for the first time since 1999, revealed he often met with the star signal-caller to talk about how he was treated by his longtime head coach.
“The Dynasty” is set to premiere Friday.