Since the official departure of Tom Brady from the New England Patriots, we are starting to find out more and more of what happened behind the scenes to get us to the moment where Brady would sign a contract to play for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Brady announced on Tuesday that he would be continuing his football career elsewhere and officially made that happen when he signed on to play with the Buccaneers in free agency. This may have been the first time Brady has left the franchise since being drafted, but not actually the first time he has thought about it.
ESPN reports that Brady had a “blowup” with Bill Belichick in late 2017 when he made it clear that he wanted to play until his mid-40s and he wanted an extension.
A meeting with Brady and Belichick di not go so well.
From ESPN.com:
“Brady made it clear that he was playing football until his mid-40s. He preferred to sign a deal to ensure that he retired a Patriot, but if the team refused, he was fine moving on. He wanted clarity. He met with Belichick, and the meeting ended with a “blowup,” a source said. He met with Kraft. He got mixed signals. Team president Jonathan Kraft told NFL Network in January 2018 that Brady had “earned the right” to decide when he wanted to stop playing for the team. On the other hand, that right never came in the form of a contract extension, at least not one Brady felt would last the rest of his career.”
Brady played two more years, winning another Super Bowl before he ultimately ended his career with the team on a Wild Card loss to the Tennessee Titans.
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“I have always believed that well done is better than well said, so I’m not gonna say much more – I’m just gonna get to work!” he wrote in an Instagram post upon signing his deal.
