YahooSports - Make no mistake – there has been a cool distance between Brady, who turns 33 in August, and the organization over the past few months, and not just of the physical variety.
Entering the final year of the $60 million contract he signed before the 2005 season, Brady would seem to be in line for a lucrative extension that would make him one of the league’s highest-paid players. Yet three months before the start of the 2010 campaign, and less than two months before training camp, there have been no substantial talks between his agents (Don Yee and Steve Dubin) and the Pats’ front office, and there’s a growing sense of disconnect between the two camps.
Brady declined to comment, saying he is uncomfortable discussing the subject. Last week New England owner Robert Kraft expressed confidence that the two sides would get a deal done, telling the Boston Globe, “We’re very lucky to have him as our quarterback and we want him to be our quarterback for a long time into the future.”
However, wanting something to happen and making it so financially are two different animals, and some people close to Brady feel the organization isn’t displaying much urgency toward ensuring the latter. Conversely, the Patriots’ brass, now experiencing a third consecutive offseason in which their California-raised quarterback has spent a sizeable chunk of time away from the team’s facility, would probably welcome some assurances that the quarterback is content to remain on the East Coast.
It would help if the two sides started talking, but right now there is insecurity in the air. With the specter of a work stoppage following the 2010 season looming, Brady’s situation seems entwined with the uncertain labor landscape, to the point where he could be angling toward prospective free agency after a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.
My instincts tell me this is a remote possibility. Brady and Kraft have a strong relationship and a mutual appreciation for one another’s contributions toward the franchise’s decade-long run as the NFL’s most successful franchise. And even though there’s no guarantee that teams will still be allowed to retain the rights of at least one unrestricted free agent via the “franchise” tag once the current CBA expires, it’s hard to imagine Kraft, one of the league’s most powerful owners, signing off on a deal that could expose him to the departure of his best player.
Chances are, Brady will remain with the Pats long past 2010, and this will go down as a business-driven blip in their relationship.
Yet the Patriots, more than many franchises, seem to be making a concerted effort toward minimizing costs heading into the final year of the current CBA, and Brady, the team’s assistant player rep, is at least nominally aligned with the NFL Players Association as it prepares for a possible lockout. It’s hard not to view the apparent stagnation in Brady’s contract talks through the prism of labor uncertainty.
This is an excerpt from an article that is complete bullshit. Suggesting that the Patriots won't resign Tom Brady is complete bullshit. Im sitting here, shitting my pants while reading what this guy wrote about my quarterback, but then I realized something. Where is this guy's works cited page? He made all of that shit up just to write a story that would piss me off. I know he goes on to say he believes Brady will be a Pat forever but come on man don't make shit up like that. This guy is the Jim Joyce of Yahoo Sports.
P.S. Welker is back, Welker. Is. Back.
i blame Yahoo
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