CONFIRMED: Tom Brady Finally Breaks Silence on ‘Tension’ With Bill Belichick That Sparked Patriots Exit…see more

Tom Brady, who played under Bill Belichick during his two decades as quarterback of the New England Patriots, addressed the “natural tension” with the NFL coach that played a factor in his departure.

The retired quarterback, who spent 20 seasons playing for the New England Patriots before transferring to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, recently confessed that his relationship with former Patriots coach Bill Belichick was part of the reason for his departure.

“The reality was, after twenty years together, a natural tension had developed between where Coach Belichick and I were headed in our careers,” Tom wrote in the March 24 edition of his 199 newsletter, “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.”

Since he felt they weren’t aligned, the seven-time Super Bowl champ—who shares kids Benjamin, 14, and Vivian, 11, with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, as well as son Jack, 17, with ex Bridget Moynahan—explained he took time to “assess and reassess” his priorities before transferring.

He added, “I asked myself, as someone headed into their forties with school-age kids and twenty years worth of battle scars, what truly mattered to me now?”

Ever the analytical sportsman, Tom created a list of priorities he cared about when it came to his work—aspects like the skill of his teammates, financial compensation and, yes, the head coach of the team.

Of his 2020 decision, he noted, “In the end, I chose Tampa, almost exactly five years ago now, because, in the aggregate, it graded out higher than New England along those twenty or so dimensions. It’s not much more complicated than that.”

Since Tom’s 2023 retirement from both Tampa Bay and the sport of football, Belichick has also left the NFL. Though the 72-year-old isn’t done with the sport (he now leads the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill football team), Tom took a moment to praise his former coach after leaving the Patriots in January 2024.

“I’m incredibly grateful to have played for the best coach in the history of the NFL,” Tom wrote in an Instagram post at the time. “I could never have been the player I was without you Coach Belichick. I am forever grateful.”