Will Brady retire as a New England Patriot? Here’s why he shouldn’t

Tom Brady needs no introduction, nor do his achievements in New England. He won everything there is to win as a Patriot. He won Super Bowls, MVPs and Super Bowl MVPs while cementing his legacy as the greatest football player to ever walk the earth. His memory bank is like a jam packed telephone book full with memories of titles and records set in Pats blue and silver. The last few pages, which would be known as the white pages for those of you who are too young to know what a phone book looks like, are memories made in the red and white of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

So why wouldn’t Brady want to retire as a Patriot if that’s where his legacy is most remembered?

Bad break up

The New England Patriots became famous for a few things in their two decades of dominance. Winning is the obvious one. The other thing they were known for is being a cold hearted franchise that doesn’t mind offloading expensive stars and swapping them out with younger, less expensive players. It became the nature of the business in Foxborough. It turned out that no one escapes the shadow of the dark reality of business. Not even Tom Brady.

The Pats essentially ran Tom Brady out of town when they felt like they had used up all they could from him. After six Super Bowls, and twenty years on top of the NFL they ditched him like he was a yesterday’s trash.

TB omits Pats in first send off

Brady didn’t forget how the Pats treated on his way out of Foxborough. The first time he retired, which came on the anniversary of his first retirement, Tom Brady wrote a heart felt letter pouring every last ounce of love he had for the game and the people who helped him become the GOAT into his goodbye message. Everyone except the Patriots.

He still had that bitter taste in his mouth from the ugly goodbye in New England when he put pen to paper, or fingers to key board. Brady put his soul into the eight page essay essentially thanking everyone from his family, to his previous coaches and players but there was no mention of the Patriots, Bill Belichick or anyone in the front offices at Gillette Stadium.

Shots fired. Message sent.

Super Bowl with Tampa writes new chapter

Tampa made Tom forget about the Patriots real quick. It may not have been the smoothest starts to his era in Florida, but the Bucs got hot at the right time and rode their wave to the Super Bowl where Brady won his seventh Lombardi Trophy back in 2020.

Just to be clear, that’s more than any franchise in the entire NFL. Brady didn’t need New England. Brady didn’t need Bill Belichick. Brady didn’t need Tampa Bay. New England, Bill Belichick and Tampa needed Brady.

There was so much debate, so much discussion about who was responsible for the Pats success, Bill Belichick? Or Tom Brady? It took less than a year to put an end to that debate. Brady won the Bucs their second Super Bowl in franchise history while the Patriots missed the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.

Brady done with the limelight

Brady’s retirement video he posted on social media Wednesday was short, sweet and to the point. The GOAT has been in the spotlight since the turn of the millennium, and now he wants to take his final bow on his terms, in his way. He didn’t want glitz or glamour or ceremonies. He just wants to fade of into the sun as the greatest football player to ever live.

Brady doesn’t have to, and most likely won’t sign for New England, first off because there is no love lost for the Pats. Second off, because he proved he can win wherever he goes. Most of all Brady doesn’t want to be in the spotlight anymore. He is ready to move on to the next chapter of his life.