In his 20 years with the New England Patriots, veteran quarterback Tom Brady has carried them to six Super Bowl titles in nine appearances. The 42-year-old Brady also spearheaded the Patriots to 13 AFC championship appearances and 16 AFC East titles, not bad for a player selected 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. Brady’s performance in the last decade has earned him the honor of NFL Player of the Decade from Sporting News. However, Brady’s future is up in the air as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his two-decade career in the NFL.
The Patriots could avoid that from happening if they sign Brady to a contract that would fulfill his dream of playing until he’s 45 years old between now and the start of the league’s new year on March 18. If they let Brady test the free-agent market, there is a possibility that they could lose the greatest quarterback of all time to another squad where he could finish his Hall-of-Fame bound career.
Dan Marino weighs in on Brady’s future
For Hall of Fame's quarterback Dan Marino, the Patriots could have avoided this situation from happening if they had taken care of Brady’s contract a long time ago. “Me personally, I’m a quarterbacks guy, so I would have taken care of Tom ahead of time,” Marino told Fox Sports 1’s “First Things First.” Marino played for the Miami Dolphins for 17 seasons before calling it a career so he fully understands the situation Brady is in.
Earlier, Adam Schefter said that Brady has three choices as he enters free agency – stay with the Patriots, retire or move to another team. Of his three choices, Schefter said it is unlikely that Brady will remain with the Patriots.
Marino: Patriots should accede to Brady’s demand
The Hall of Famer said Brady has earned the right to call the shots and impose on the Patriots to keep him, due to the success that he has brought to the organization in the past two decades.
“He should have that right to because of what he’s done for that franchise and what he’s done for that team and the New England fans and everybody,” Marino insisted. However, Marino said Brady’s Hall-of-Fame bound career has also given him the right to play somewhere else if he desires.
Based on his experience with the Dolphins, Marino said it would be hard for Brady to decide on his future.
Despite his desire to continue his playing career, Marino said he decided not to play for any other team and retire for good. With Brady’s competitive nature, Marino said it would be tough for his fellow quarterback to decide on his next step. As of now, Brady said that deciding on his future is the least of his priorities as he wants to decompress from their early exit in the playoffs after losing to the Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card Game. Earlier, it was reported that Brady and his family moved out of their home in Brookline, Massachusetts and transferred to their new house in Greenwich, Connecticut. However, Patriots insider Tom E. Curran refuted the report, saying Brady and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, do not own any house in Connecticut.