Bolt
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- Mar 19, 2019
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As quarterback Tom Brady inches toward the first free agency of his career, there could be a fundamental difference between the manner in which his current team and his potential suitors value him.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who runs the show in New England when it comes to who will get paid and how much, undoubtedly will regard Brady from a football perspective only, placing a value on the 42-year-old quarterback based solely on what he will be expected to do for the team during a football season that will see him turn 43 more than a month before it begins. Other teams may view Brady differently.
Specifically, other teams may regard the pursuit of Brady as a business proposition. He’ll sell tickets. He’ll sell suites. He’ll get people to show up and buy stuff. He’ll sell more jerseys with new colors and logos than any other player.
Put simply, signing Brady will be great for business. And if a team is willing to pay a premium for that, the offer that a team may extend to Brady may be dramatically more than the offer that Belichick may extend.
If that happens, Brady’s departure from the team for which he has played for 20 years may become a foregone conclusion. And if that happens, it won’t be anyone’s fault, per se. Brady, as a free agent, will have the option to pursue a payday driven by much more than football considerations, and the Patriots will (if faced with matching an offer driven by business considerations) have the option to use that money as it always has done: To put the best and most competitive football team on the field.