We object to the characterisation another sports outlet assigned to the impending free agency of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as, “Not just arguably the biggest story of the upcoming NFL offseason, but in all of sports.”
That statement registered a 10 on our hyperbole-o-meter and the meter goes up only to nine.
Brady will be an unrestricted free agent on 18 March 2023.
Further, his last contract negotiation in August of 2019 included a clause that prevents the club from designating him with the franchise tag, which is a fancy way of saying that New England cannot prevent him from negotiating with other clubs.
Brady, although 42, has given every indication of wanting to continue on.
New England finished the regular season with a 13 – 3 record, but if we may be permitted, it was a soft 13 – 3 that was more the result of a smothering defense than of anything Brady and his mates on the offensive side supplied.
No blame to Brady.
New England lacked a running game and their receiving corps, were those blokes playing AFL footy, would have been relegated to the VFL.
The Patriots would be questioned ad infinitum if they allowed Brady to sign with another club, but Brady poses an unfathomable enigma.
Was his drop in productivity during the 2019 – 2023 NFL Championship a case of the inevitable drop off implied by age, or was it more a case of New England lacking a supporting cast for Brady?
Either way, giving Brady even a one-year deal for the amount he can command in free agency does not make sound fiscal sense, yet the nightmare scenario of Brady going to another AFC club, and then returning to haunt the Patriots in a playoff game is hideous to contemplate.
What if Brady were to shift to the NFC?
New England supporters would be properly apoplectic if Brady were to lead an NFC club to the Super Bowl, and then beat New England in the footy game that stops a nation.
In a radio interview with Westwood One, Brady said that he had spent the two weeks since the Patriots were dismissed “Decompressing from the season” and spending time with his family, although it is doubtful any family member accompanied him to Las Vegas to take in UFC 246.
