Tom Brady is currently the subject of various rumors: Is he sure he’s moving on? Does he want more money? Are there still quarrels? Or is all this just waste and no reason for fans of the New England Patriots to panic? A comment by SPOX editor Marcus Blumberg.
First of all: As someone who has followed Tom Brady’s career almost from the beginning, I was pretty sure that the quarterback of the Patriots would have ended his career – if New England had won Super Bowl LII. Brady gave this vibe not least in the documentary “Tom vs. Time”.
But things turned out differently. And that defeat may have led Brady to decide to continue that night.
Nevertheless, within the last few days these reports made the rounds: Brady’s whereabouts are not certain. Brady wants a new contract. Brady will definitely play next season. Brady and Belichick are at war. And so on.
The situation is as follows: Tom Brady has stressed for several years that his intention is to play at least until his mid-40s. He said that after Super Bowl LI, who the Patriots had won with their historic comeback against Atlanta. So after a career highlight that would have been the perfect opportunity to end a picture-book career in the best possible way.
But Brady stuck to his position to continue. And he played the 2017 season at an excellent level after completing his 40th birthday – the MVP title underscores this. In purely sporting terms, there is little to criticize Brady, let alone to question.
It remains to be seen whether it will or should go on until 45. In the last issue of this documentary he told his wife Gisele Bündchen that he wanted to win “another Super Bowl”. What he said seemed to be a promise and a clear objective.
Brady’s absence from the voluntary part of the off-season workouts, which he hadn’t done since 2010, has caused some alarm bells to ring in the past few days – and the rumour mill was boiling. In fact, however, at first he had a good reason to stay away: A “Best Buddy” event in Qatar. Brady has been supporting this organization for years, so it’s not surprising that he also took the time this year.
That he didn’t come to the camp afterwards and preferred to stay in Qatar instead? A gift! It seems perfectly normal that Brady wants to spend more time with his family at his age.
So why visit a camp that’s all about fitness? Brady does fitness training anyway with an incomparable meticulousness, which combined with his unconventional diet is a reason for his still high sporting level.
As far as the rumours about a new treaty are concerned, too much seems to be being made of it. Firstly, Brady still has two more years of contract, secondly he has never really been interested in money and thirdly – probably the central point in this matter – Kraft has already said that he would be prepared to give Brady a new contract if this issue came up.
Is it now? I don’t know! But it will certainly not be an obstacle to continuing his career. The fire in Brady should still burn too hot, especially after this super bowl bankruptcy.
There is also a dispute with Belichick over the controversial fitness guru and Brady business partner Alex Guerrero. Even after an off-season conversation between Brady, Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft it doesn’t seem clear whether all irritations were eliminated here. As usual, no one is commenting on internal affairs at Foxborough.
Personally, I think there may still be a difference of opinion between the leading figures in New England. But when it comes back to business in the “real” training camp in the summer – maybe even earlier – then they will pull themselves together.
Because there is still the common goal of success while the Brady/Belichick duo is still together. And that should ultimately drown out possible squabbles. For another Super Bowl – at least.