In a shocking development following Tom Brady’s retirement news, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he wanted Brady to sign a one-day contract and retire as a Patriot.
Tom Brady announced his retirement from football on Wednesday, hanging up his cleats after a 23-year NFL career in which he won most of his career accolades on the New England Patriots.
The Pats were, after all, the team to take a chance on the scrawny kid out of Michigan in the sixth round. In return, Brady brought fame and acclaim to the franchise with six total Super Bowl wins and more than two decades of dominance, and he will without a doubt go down as the best player to ever put on a Patriots jersey.
Could he put it on one more time? Just for PR purposes, anyhow.
Robert Kraft, the longtime owner of the Patriots, told CNN on Thursday that he wants Brady to sign a one-day contract with New England so that he can officially retire in the nautical blue and red.
Kraft said:
“Not only do I want it, our fans are clamoring for it. To us, he is always has been and always will be a Patriot. We will do everything in our power to bring him back, have him sign off as a Patriot and find ways to honor him for many years to come.”
Tom Brady could still end his career as a New England Patriot in 2023
Some may believe Brady’s relationship with the Pats is nothing but ash from burned bridges: Brady failed to acknowledge New England in his retirement message last year, and this past week, New England’s social account merely recycled a graphic to congratulate Brady on his second retirement.
As of now, Brady will retire having played his last NFL season on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which he came off the first and only losing season of his entire career.
Kraft can do “everything in his power” to try and bring the star quarterback back to New England; based on Brady’s retirement video, however, he seems to have closed that chapter of his career for good.
Perhaps Kraft is merely extending an olive branch to make peace with Brady. All those years ago, Brady was indeed the best decision of Kraft’s career, and Kraft only wants to honor Brady’s immortal connection to New England. Nothing more.