This Tom Brady Story Shows How QB's Selfless Mentality Changed Over Years
What has helped the New England Patriots in part thrive over the past two decades is quarterback Tom Brady's willingness to take a pay cut so the team could sign more talented players. Because of his sacrifice, New England has overcome large amounts of turnover over the years with the help of Bill Belichick's philosophy, along with some sacrifices by other players on the team as well.
Brady' relationship with the Patriots organization, whether it be owner Robert Kraft, Jonathan Kraft, Belichick, or other former execs for the team, has been great from the start. But what has really helped the two parties come to agreements on contracts in the past, which has been unknown up until now, is how much Brady plays a part in his own contract negotiations despite having an agent that's supposed to do that for him.
During a conversation with NBC Sports Boston in Miami, former Patriots general manager Scott Pioli shared a story about when the team was negotiating a new contract with Brady back in 2005. The story he told was not only insightful, but it showed how Brady's mentality has changed over the past decade and a half.
“The year that we were actually going to have to pay (Tom Brady) I was negotiating with his agent, Don Yee, and we were at one place, and Don was at another place much higher," Pioli said. "I think Peyton Manning had just gotten like 13 (million) a year or 13.5 a year, that big deal and I remember Tommy was… we were doing that negotiation and we were having the conversation, Don Yee and I, I knew what our ceiling was with Robert (Kraft), Jonathan (Kraft), Bill (Belichick), and myself. We didn’t know what the other side was and I’ll never forget, Tommy came to my office one morning, and he just, Nancy says, “hey Tommy’s here to see you,” and he just comes in and he closes the door. He says, 'listen, can we just talk about this?' And I’ll cut through the long part of the detailed conversation, and I said, 'Tommy, we’re not supposed to be having this conversation, I can’t negotiate with you.' He’s like, 'no, this is two friends talking. This isn’t a negotiation.' And he talked about the numbers and I, y’know, we talked about this number that was 10 million dollars a year — 60 million is what that deal ended up being, and I’ll never forget, he looked up at me, and I won’t give you the full language that he used; he said, 'hey, if my family and I can’t live on 60 million dollars a year, there’s something really wrong.' He’s like, 'I’m tired of this nonsense, call Don,'
"This is part of the greatness; now I know that we’re talking in Boston right now, when it’s been interesting cause I’ve been outside of that bubble, and I know how much he’s revered and how much respect there is, how much people understand that - when I hear people talking about Tommy as if they know him, and what he really is and what kind of person he is; that moment, I had, y’know, I had believed him in every other way prior to that. That specific moment transcended… I knew how great of a team player he was, I knew how important everybody else was to him; that moment just took it to a new level.”
After five more Super Bowl appearances, three championships and a continued Hall of Fame career following that 2005 offseason, it's clear that 42-year-old Tom Brady's mentality when it comes to contract negotiations is much different than when he was 27. Back then he was worried about what was best for the team, and what was enough for his family. Fast forward to 2020 - Brady is looking to cash his first check in the NFL that doesn't include a hometown discount, and doesn't seem to care how that effects whichever football team decides to sign him.
It's no surprise that after sacrificing for his entire career Brady is ready to make every football decision solely about himself going forward. The long-tenured Patriot has an opportunity to provide leverage to his situation this offseason by becoming a free agent for the first time in his career. Once that happens, he can field offers from other teams in the NFL that may want to make use of his services. That will finally allow Brady, who was the 11th-highest paid quarterback in the league last year, to potentially receive the going-rate for a QB in the NFL.
But as free agency draws nearer by the day, there's one thing that has to be understood about Brady's situation with the Patriots: he doesn't owe them anything. He also doesn't owe the fans of New England anything.
When Brady does make a decision this offseason, it's important to know that he reserves the right to do whatever he wants without criticism from the hopefuls that want him to remain a Patriot, or from those that may not be okay with his ultimate decision. Brady has been selfless over the past 20 years in order to help his team succeed, so it's time everyone pushes for the 6-time Super Bowl champion to get what is rightfully his, whatever that may be.
