New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft admits it was a mistake to let Tom Brady go. What did he say?

As we take stock of the New England Patriots’ most recent campaign, one that ended with a 4-13 record and no trip to the postseason, it’s hard not to feel a sense of disbelief. This after all is one of the most successful sports teams in the last 20 years. Anywhere. Yet, for many, it’s no great mystery as to why the team’s fall from grace was so dramatic. Except, it seems, for owner Robert Kraft. Until now.

Robert Kraft admits to a mistake with Tom Brady

Despite our desire to say ‘duh’, we’re here to deal with the facts and not opinion. That of course brings us to the admission many of us were waiting for: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft stated that he made a massive mistake when he allowed Tom Brady to leave the franchise back in 2020. You will of course recall, that in the wake of the 2019 season, the Patriots could in fact have kept Brady on the roster. Instead, the Pats took the decision to let the then 6-time Super Bowl winner go as a free agent. We should also remind you, that one of the central reasons why Kraft and Co. went that way, was because Bill Belichick thought that Brady was past it. Yep.

Needless to say, Belichick wasn’t just wrong, he was terribly wrong. Brady signed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the offseason and then proceeded to lead them to a Super Bowl victory in his first season with the team. By contrast, the Patriots recorded a 29-38 record across their first four seasons without Brady. An absolute disaster to say the least. That all came to a head this season following the above-mentioned record and failure to make the playoffs. Ultimately, the franchise decided to part ways with its long-term GM/coach and here we are with Kraft seemingly having come full circle - finally - to the realization that letting Brady go was never going to end well. This brings us to a recent report about a conversation that the Pats owner had with Tom Brady Sr., one in which he admitted at last that Brady’s departure was a mistake.

So, what did Robert Kraft say to Tom Brady Sr.?

“I made a mistake,” were the simple words that Brady Sr. said the Patriots owner spoke to him. Speaking in a recent interview, the father of football’s greatest player expanded on the conversation he had with Kraft. “We don’t all make the right decisions, but he’s made a hell of a lot of good ones over the years. But I know that it galls him that Tommy went elsewhere and won. Not that he won, but that he won after Bill (Belichick) said he was done.” Indeed, that notion appears to have been supported by an ESPN article from just a few weeks ago. In the piece, it was made clear that Kraft was furious after watching Brady win a Super Bowl with another team. “Bill had told me he couldn’t play anymore, and then he goes out and wins the f---ing Super Bowl,” Kraft reportedly said back in February 2021.

Why did Robert Kraft speak now?

That’s a good question. Even more so when we consider that it has always been the 82-year-old’s way to stay relatively quiet on the Brady front. On the other hand, the team is set to honor its former star quarterback in Week 1 of the next season. Could it be he simply wanted to clear the air? Water under the bridge so to speak. Regardless, what we do know is that Brady and the Pats will go down as one of the biggest ‘What ifs’ in NFL history, something that Robert Kraft still seems to be sore about.