Tom Brady made a shocking admission on Sunday during his return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The legendary quarterback continued his Fox broadcasting duties in Tampa Bay, where he won one of his seven Super Bowl rings.
However, while covering his former team’s 33-16 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, the 47-year-old dropped a bombshell.
Brady revealed that he almost signed with the Chicago Bears in free agency in 2020 after walking away from the New England Patriots.
Brady said that after deciding to leave New England, where he led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, he created 18 criteria for each of the franchises he was considering.
Tom Brady made a shocking admission during his return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday
“Chicago was a team, and I’ve never told that story before. They were very discreet in their recruitment,” he said.
“I gave it some serious thought, but in the end it came down to Tampa. And it was close to my son Jack, I loved Bruce Arians and the role he played in the attack, and ultimately the great players like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin who I still watch today.”
Brady eventually signed with the Buccaneers and won the Super Bowl in his first season with the franchise.
He spent two more seasons in Tampa Bay, even making a U-turn in 2022 before ultimately leaving the field for good in 2023.
The former quarterback led the Buccaneers to Super Bowl glory after signing for free agency
The three-time MVP brought along the notes he took while pondering his decision and held them up for the camera.
Many eagle-eyed fans on social media focused on a particular benchmark that put Brady at the top of the Bears and Buccaneers’ two cars.
They suggested that the Bears’ notes listed a figure of 10 million, while Tampa Bay’s appeared to list 27.5 million at the top, leading many to claim that Chicago was offering him a drastically lower salary.
Meanwhile, the Bears started the 2020 season 5-1 but lost six straight games while relying on Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles under center.