Here’s What Tom Brady Reportedly Wants From Bill Belichick In Free Agency

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady may have some special demands regarding his free agency decision. Will head coach Bill Belichick find the right way to keep TB12 on the roster?

Brady’s pending free agency is making the best headlines these days. It’s really complicated for both sides. Brady has spent his entire career with the Patriots. He’s been part of the same team for two decades. He and Belichick have won six Super Bowls together. Although there were some reports about the alleged tension between the quarterback and his head coach, these two make the best duo in the NFL. Other quarterbacks and head coaches don’t have the same connection as Brady and Belichick.

Stephen A. Smith has a theory

Stephen A. Smith talked about Brady’s free agency on ESPN’s “First Take.” According to him, TB12 needs a direct message of affirmation from the head coach. It may be of great help for the decision-making process. In other words, the quarterback wants to feel wanted.

“The friction that exists between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick is real,” Smith said. “And it’s not real from the perspective of: ‘We dislike each other, whatever the case may be.’ Bill Belichick is perceived throughout NFL circles as being somebody with a very, very high IQ and a very, very low EQ. He’s not the most personable dude in the world. He’s not the kind of guy that can go to you and is like, ‘I love you. I value you. I appreciate you. Please stay. We love you. We want you to be here.’

“That ain’t Bill Belichick. And because he severely lacks those interpersonal skills to ingratiate himself with another human being, even if it’s a quarterback that’s taken them to nine Super Bowls and won six Super Bowl titles for him — because he can’t do that, it’s virtually impossible for Mr. (Robert) Kraft or anybody else to step in without Bill Belichick doing it.”

Tom Brady is serious about his free agency

“The thing about Tom Brady is that for really the first time in his career, he’s pretty much demanding that, from what I’m being told. He’s demanding that, ‘Wait a minute. Enough with all of this. This man needs to come here and convince me that he wants me to be here. I don’t need to be here anymore if he doesn’t want me here.’ And that is what Tom Brady is looking for from Bill Belichick. That is what the Patriots are looking for from Bill Belichick.

“So it comes down to, from what I’m told: Bill Belichick going to Tom Brady and saying, ‘I really want you to stay.’ That’s all it would take. But it’s a very, very, very big ask for somebody whose interpersonal skills are as challenged as Bill Belichick’s.”

The Patriots selected Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He was loyal to the organization in the past two decades. Brady agreed to lower salaries just to help his team get talented players.

Brady will enter the free market for the first time in his professional career. His head coach may want to leave his comfort zone to keep TB12 on the roster.

“What I’m being told is that essentially this is a deal that could easily be closed by Mr. Kraft if indeed Belichick makes it clear he wants (Brady) to stay,” Smith said. “The one thing that Tom Brady is insistent upon, that he needs, is that Bill Belichick wants him to stay, because this is the guy he has to work with every day, this is the man that he has to answer to.”