According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, speaking on ESPN on Sunday, six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady’s chances of resigning with the New England Patriots before he enters the free agency market next week are not good.
Stating that Brady “does not have anything close to a deal in New England yet,” the US sports writer and television analyst said:
“Now I know people think "he’s going back to New England." What makes them think that? Why would they think that now when this has been going on since he put the motion into place where basically he voided the contract? There haven’t been any substantial contract negotiations. There hasn’t been anything that resembles a deal,” said Schefter.
According to ESPN, Brady has singled out two demands when picking his team for the following season: he wants to be a part of the roster construction and the “decision-making on offensive play calls”.
Narrowing Options
According to Chris Simms, former NFL quarterback and currently an NFL and college football analyst for NBC Sports programs, Brady, who turns 43 in August, is looking at two options - the Patriots, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Sunday afternoon Simms claimed he expected Brady to return to New England.
The analyst added that the San Francisco 49ers are also reportedly “out” on Brady, as he referred to them as the quarterback’s “No. 1 choice.”
Sports Illustrated later confirmed that San Francisco was signing Jimmy Garoppolo.
With free agency opening on Wednesday, a number of teams had been linked with Brady should he part ways with the Patriots.
These include the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers.
The latest news on Brady, who has played in a record nine Super Bowls, winning six of them, came two days after WEEI fed into earlier reports that head coach Bill Belichick had offered Brady a one-year contract for less money than the quarterback had made last year.
The offer was reportedly made during a conversation Brady and coach Bill Belichick had earlier this month, claimed WEEI's Dale Arnold.
“What I was told happened was the Patriots told Tom Brady that all they can do is a one-year deal at less money than he made last year because of the $13.5 million that gets tacked onto the salary cap and basically, “What we’re going to be able to do here Tom, is a one-year deal, but it’s not going to be for as much money as you got last year,”” said Arnold.
Previously, Tom Brady signed an extension for $70 million in August that bumped his salary to $23 million in 2019.