ESPN’s Adam Schefter thinks Tom Brady is ‘setting up’ to leave Patriots

By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com

ESPN’s Adam Schefter appears to think Tom Brady’s days in New England are numbered.

Speaking with the Monday Night Football pregame crew before Monday’s AFC East head-to-head between the Patriots and Jets, Schefter, often regarded as the top insider in the NFL media circle, tried to outline the reasons behind this idea with some dot-connecting that isn’t exactly new information.

“Let’s boil this down to the basic facts once again,” Schefter said during the ESPN pregame show. “Let’s look at some simple things: Has he put his home for sale? Yes. Has his trainer put his home for sale? Yes. Has he set up his contract to void after this season to become a free agent? Yes. So if he’s selling his home and his trainer is selling his home and he’s voiding his contract? What does that tell you? He’s setting up to move on.”

“He’s setting it up to move on,” Schefter continued. “There are many times people set up things in their lives to move on and they walk to the abyss, look down and say, ‘Whoa, I’m not jumping now.’ So he could change his mind.”

The term “move on” seems vague here. (Perhaps intentionally.) Brady has hardly shown any signs of dramatically slowing down as an on-field threat, and he hasn’t come down off the talk that he wants to play into his mid-40s, so retiring doesn’t like the implication here. It instead seems like Schefter’s way of dancing around his belief that Brady would embark on a free agent tour in 2020.

But regarding the facts Schefter has chosen to stick with: Yes, Brady’s home is for sale. It’s also on the market for a cool $39.5 million, which means it’s not exactly the easiest property to move. The 42-year-old Brady has said as much in interviews when asked about the house. It doesn’t necessarily mean much of anything until there’s a legitimate buyer on the table.

When it comes to the ‘extension’ Brady and the Patriots worked out before the 2019 season, it was about balancing the financial wants and needs of both sides in both the now and down the road. And while the contract details open the door for Brady to leave, as Schefter discussed, it’s hard to imagine Patriots owner Robert Kraft letting No. 12 walk out that door without exhausting all possible options to keep Brady happy.

But that won’t stop the rumor mill from firing up some Brady takes until another new deal is worked out between the sides.

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.