"The reality was," wrote Brady, "after twenty years together, a natural tension had developed between where Coach Belichick and I were headed in our careers, and where the Patriots were moving as a franchise. It was the kind of tension that could only be resolved by some kind of split or one of us reassessing our priorities."

By the end of the 2019 season, which ended with a playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans, Brady said it was pretty clear he was done in New England and that the tension with Belichick had a lot to do with that.