Tom Brady: Bill Belichick and I Developed 'Natural Tension' by End of Patriots Run

Tom Brady shed some light Monday on his free agency in 2020, when he decided to part ways with the New England Patriots and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"For me, it was a creeping decision that lived passively in the back of mind for two to three years until March of 2020 when a whirlwind of a few days made me realize that a decision was coming sooner rather than later," he wrote in his weekly newsletter. "The reality was, after 20 years together, a natural tension had developed between where Coach Bill Belichick and I were headed in our careers, and where the Patriots were moving as a franchise. It was the kind of tension that could only be resolved by some kind of split or one of us reassessing our priorities."

Brady didn't offer many new insights beyond what was generally reported at the time. In 2020, for example, ESPN's Seth Wickersham reported on the divorce, noting a number of factors—Brady's desire for a long-term extension that would ensure he ended his career in New England, which never came; his well-documented partnership with trainer Alex Guerrero that caused a rift between the quarterback, the team's training staff and Belichick; his disillusionment with Belichick's culture and what he felt was a lack of appreciation from the head coach—played a part in Brady's decision to depart Foxboro.

Ultimately, Brady's departure worked out far better for the veteran quarterback than it did for Belichick and the Patriots. Brady would go on to win his seventh Super Bowl title with Tampa Bay, while the Patriots haven't had one winning season since 2020 and parted ways with Belichick after the 2023 season. Jerod Mayo, his replacement, was fired after just one season.

Now, Brady is both a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and a game analyst for Fox Sports, while Belichick took over as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels this offseason.

The two will forever be linked after 20 years together in New England and six titles together. They'll be remembered more for their success, but the nature of the divorce between the greatest quarterback and greatest head coach of a generation will always provide intrigue.