Drive Poll – Brady Week: Maybe TB12 Wasn’t Forced Out After All?

It's Brady week, and that's all anyone seems to be talking about in Maine, New England or around the country. So, welcome to Day 2...

In an appearance on NESN After Hours last night, Jeff Howe of The Athletic stated that prior to the 2019 season, the Patriots formally offered Tom Brady a 2-year/$53-million extension.

“The Patriots offered him two years and $53 million in training camp in 2019, and Brady turned it down,” Howe said. “He ultimately took what amounted be a raise of several million, and it gave him an out to leave the Patriots after the 2019 season.”

It's tough to speculate what the contract actually looked like in print, though. Remember, Brady ended up playing the 2019 season in New England under a contract that on the surface was worth $70-million over two years. However, all it really did was boost his 2019 salary from $15-million to $23-million and include two void years, essentially making it a fake contract and allowing Brady to test the open waters in March 2020.

With that being said, perhaps Bill's comments from yesterday where the head coach said he "always wanted" Brady back in New England were truer than people gave him credit for.

Either way, we all know what happened in the end. So does this report make you think or feel any differently about Brady's departure 18 months ago?

And if you want to keep voting in Brady themed polls...