Tom Brady Not Worried about Contract
Many fans of the New England Patriots have been worrying all offseason over the fact that this is the final year on Tom Brady’s contract. Perhaps the greatest player in the franchise’s history, fans were wondering throughout the offseason if Brady would hold out or if the Patriots would re-sign him this year.
With Brady showing up for training camp on time, Brady has proven that he isn’t worried about reaching a new deal with the Patriots and is just happy to get back to football. He is determined also not to distract the team with his contract negotiations.
"Nobody here can solve it but myself and the team," Brady said. "I'm in the position a lot of guys are around the league and on this team. I'm under contract and it's my responsibility to come out and play as well as I can. I've always felt that's what I love to do anyway -- to come out here and compete."
Brady also went on to say that he hopes to play the rest of his career with the Patriots. With Brady’s goals in mind, that could be for a while, as Brady said he hopes to play another 10 years in the league. He will be making $6.5 million in the final year of his contract. He also believes that he has the mental toughness to not let the contract talks distract him from performing to his capabilities.
"We all deal with different stuff in our life -- some more challenging than others -- but I'm a leader on this team and I've been a captain for a long time. You just put those things off the field behind you and come here with a good attitude and show good leadership.”
Coach Bill Belichick also believes that his leader and quarterback cannot let the contract negotiations take over his mind as he, like any player, has other things to work on during training camp.
"Now's the time to really start developing timing and consistency, feeling the rush and all those things a quarterback has to deal with such as time management, game management, so forth and so on. He works as hard as anybody does. He's very professional. He's got a great work ethic... but there's no substitute for being out there with 21 other players," said Belichick.
Brady also stated that the struggling contract talks have not soured his taste for the organization and the Kraft family: "I've always been privileged to play for Coach Belichick, who I've always said is the best coach in the history of the league."
Brady went on to say that if it were up to him he’d play his whole career with this team, but no futures are guaranteed in the NFL. Things can change any day and Brady says he understands that.
However, that didn’t stop Brady from setting his goal high by wanting to play another 10 years. That would make him 43 years-old when he would retire. He said his surgically repaired knee from 2008 feels great and he’s never felt better.
We all know that no future can be guaranteed in the NFL. A talented young quarterback can come along any year and get the attention of the organization. The Patriots will eventually have to move on one day without Tom Brady. After all, the Packers chose to move on to Aaron Rodgers and pushed one of the best quarterbacks ever away in Brett Favre.
Certainly, the Patriots want Brady and he wants them back. It’s very unlikely the team would let him walk into free agency. That would definitely rival the Lebron James saga of being a free agent.
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