The New England Patriots and Tom Brady have parted ways, but that doesn’t mean the drama had stopped once the veteran QB took his talents to Tampa Bay.
In a new book “The Dynasty,” author Jeff Benedict chronicled the 2018 season where he came to find that Brady was actually very close to leaving after the 2017 Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Brady wanted owner Robert Kraft to honor an unwritten agreement they made nearly a decade ago where he wanted to leave New England on his own terms. Kraft did not want Brady to depart from the franchise, so he arranged meetings with Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen to talk things over that offseason.
Brady’s longtime wife was said to not be a huge fan of Bill Belichick and the way the head coach treated her husband. She reportedly let out some frustrations in a meeting with owner Robert Kraft following the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles.
“She also pointed out how ridiculous it was that after all these years, Belichick still treated Brady like ‘f—–g Johnny Foxboro.’ It was bad enough to never voice approval. It was bulls–t to still be dressing down the most accomplished quarterback in league history during team meetings and treating his personal trainer and best friend like some kind of outcast,” Benedict wrote.
Brady had also been paranoid that Belichick would replace him since 2010 and was nervous thinking Belichick was just looking for an excuse to get rid of him.
In the last few days, Brady said his breakup 18 months ago with the New England Patriots was handled “perfectly” and that “things worked out the best” for himself. Those comments came after Belichick denied a passage in a soon-to-be released book stating that the Patriots coach refused to meet with him before Brady left New England to sign with the Buccaneers in March 2020.
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“All those things are super personal,” said Brady, who returns to Foxborough on Sunday night for the first time since his departure after 20 seasons. “We had a great relationship. Everything was handled the right way. We handled everything as gracefully as we could. It was an amazing time, it was handled perfectly. I think everyone understood where we were at — the people involved in the situation. Things worked out the best for all of us.
“We’re all trying to do the best we can do now — that’s what happens in life. You don’t know where life is gonna lead. I think the only thing I know how to do is give it all I can in every day, every moment and the people who really bet on me, I want to do really well for them. [General manager] Jason [Licht] and [head coach] Bruce Arians — with them coming into my life, and saying, ‘Hey, we really want you here’ — it’s been an amazing thing for me.”
Despite 20 years of history together that included winning six Super Bowls — Brady and Belichick never met face-to-face for him to announce that he was leaving. He did, however, meet with Owner Robert Kraft.
The two of them will come face-to-face on Sunday night in one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire year.
