Tom Brady sent New England Patriots fans into a collective frenzy on Tuesday when he did not mention them or their team upon announcing his retirement from the NFL. Hopefully they all believe in the “better late than never” concept.
Brady announced his retirement with a nearly 1,000-word statement on Instagram. He thanked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his coaches, teammates, agents, family and many others, but there wasn’t a single word about the Patriots. A lot of people felt the omission was intentional and showed that Brady holds ill will toward his former team.
That didn’t stop the Patriots from honoring the player who helped bring them six Super Bowl titles. The team and owner Robert Kraft issued statements praising Brady, and Brady acknowledged the love both on Twitter and his Instagram story.
Some have speculated that Brady could have something bigger planned for the Patriots, like perhaps signing a one-day contract to retire as a member of the team. It’s also possible that he wanted to give all the attention to the Bucs, as they signed him two years ago when the Patriots chose to let him walk.
Brady shared several nice tributes to the Pats earlier this season when the Bucs traveled to New England. He also embraced Kraft and had a private meeting with Bill Belichick after the game.
It’s no secret that the Brady-Patriots divorce was sticky, but we doubt he will alienate the franchise in retirement. Still, the fact that he thanked the team he spent 20 years with as an afterthought was at least noteworthy.
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