Tom Brady "seriously considered" joining dark horse NFC team instead of Tampa Bay

In March 2020 Tom Brady shocked the world by revealing he would not re-sign with the New England Patriots after a 20-year stint with the team. A few days later, the superstar quarterback signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, more than four years after that decision, Brady opened up about another NFC team that he could’ve joined.

On Sunday, Brady was back at his old hunting ground of Raymond James Stadium, to cover the Week 4 matchup between the Bucs and the Philadelphia Eagles. During the broadcast in the fourth quarter, Brady said that instead of the Bucs, he could’ve joined the Chicago Bears.

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“There was a lot of reasons to choose Tampa, and I made about 18 criteria why,” Brady said. “And there was things all the way from a salary, obviously, to the weather to the facilities to how great the players were.

“And ultimately, Chicago was a team, and I never told that story before. They were very stealth in their recruitment. I was seriously considering. But in the end, it came down to Tampa.”

Tom Brady went on to win his seventh Super Bowl with the Bucs. However, in an alternate reality, that Super Bowl trophy could’ve been with the Bears.

Tom Brady will not call the Patriots' Week 5 game

After a reunion in Tampa in Week 4, many expected Tom Brady to be back in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to call the Patriots' Week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins. However, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, that reunion will have to wait longer.

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“Barring an unexpected change in the coming days, Tom Brady isn't scheduled to work the Patriots' Week 5 home game against the Dolphins, which will be broadcast on Fox. A source familiar with his schedule expects he will call the Cardinals-49ers game,” Reiss wrote.

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