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Could Tom Brady have delivered another Lombardi Trophy to the New England Patriots had he not left for Tampa Bay?
The world may never know.
What we do know, however, is that the Patriots could have kept their legendary quarterback. Instead, however, team owner Robert Kraft says he opted to side with head coach Bill Belichick.
“Yes, I feel pretty strongly about that,” Kraft said when asked whether he believes Brady would have re-signed with the team in 2020 had Belichick retired or been fired. The answer was part of an interview for a documentary entitled “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” on Apple TV.
Kraft says the relationship between Brady and Belichick was irredeemable.
“Tom and I had a number of discussions about how Bill treated him,” he noted. “Basically, it was a silent relationship. It was just totally dysfunctional.”
But as the team owner, Kraft had total autonomy to make personnel decisions. So he could have easily either fired Belichick or asked him to step down. Instead, he sided with the coach.
The rest is history.
Brady went on to win a seventh Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay. While Belichick went 29-38 in his final four seasons with New England before departing the organization following the 2023 season.
The star quarterback shared similar sentiments when asked about his feelings toward Belichick.
“Me and coach Belichick, we did what we loved and competed for 20 years together, but I wasn’t going to sign another contract even if I wanted to play until 50″ he said. “Based on how things had gone, I wasn’t going to sign up for more of it.”
In an era of player power, it’s shocking to see Belichick survive past the most successful quarterback of all-time. And it’s easy to wonder if Kraft now regrets the decision that he made.