Tom Brady is officially free to negotiate a contract with teams other than the Patriots for the first time in his Hall of Fame career, and some believe he will simply test the waters before returning to New England. That assumption may be inaccurate.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reiterated on Monday that the Patriots want Brady back, but the reporter said he is starting to get the impression the feeling is not mutual.
#Patriots beat reporter @MikeReiss on free agent Tom Brady's destination:
"There's a place here (Foxboro) for Brady if he wants it. I'm starting to question if he really wants it."
Added #Bucs made an "aggressive initial offer" to TB12.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) March 16, 2020
Reiss is around the Patriots as much as anyone and has covered them for years, so that is significant. It seems obvious that New England is not going to be the highest bidder for Brady, but what if he doesn’t want to stay with the Pats, anyway?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are said to be aggressively pursuing Brady, and they are expected to offer him a ton of guaranteed money. They cannot, however, offer Brady the same type of winning culture the quarterback has been a part of throughout his entire career. That’s not to say that is as important to Brady now as it was in the past.
Brady and the Patriots have reportedly gotten nowhere in contract talks, but that could change in a hurry. If Brady wants to leave New England, the Pats are almost certainly not going to use money in an attempt to change his mind.
