New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft shed some more light on the team's decision not to make a bigger push to sign Tom Brady last spring.
Kraft said earlier this week New England could have poured more financial assets into Brady in an effort to keep the longtime Pats signal-caller in Foxborough. But Kraft also suggested there was no guarantee keeping Brady would have resulted in greater success, citing the team's Wild Card loss to the Tennessee Titans in January of 2020:
“We could have, contract-wise, kept him (Tom Brady) in our camp, but it’s just not the right thing,” Kraft said, via Michael Giardi of NFL Network. “Naturally, we want to win, but who knows what would have happened if he stayed here. Look what happened at the end of his last season here.”
In essence, re-signing Brady might have eaten into both present and future cap and stalled the transitory period in New England.
The Patriots might not have had the flexibility to add the impact guys they signed in free agency. Instead, New England could have been doomed to fringe contender status with an aging quarterback and shortage of offensive weapons.
There is no guarantee a larger contract would have convinced Brady to stay, anyway. He had seemingly developed a greater tension with head coach Bill Belichick in part due to Belichick's insistence on adding defensive talent over offensive playmakers.
Brady might simply have ben ready for a new chapter and chance to prove himself elsewhere. He is one of the most competitive athletes in the history of team sports, after all.
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