Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were destined for greatness when Patriots owner Robert Kraft picked the NFL GOAT as the 199th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. From there, the Brady-Belichick era began, and for the next two decades, success followed the Patriots like a shadow.
Brady won seven Super Bowls in total, six with the Patriots. However, that number would have been seven if their 2019 superstar signing, Antonio Brown, had just done what the Patriots’ front office was paying him $15 million to do.
Tom Brady Did Everything in Power To Convince Antonio Brown
Brady had an intense drive to win, a sentiment well-known among his teammates. In 2019, that fire nearly found a spark in Antonio Brown. The electrifying wide receiver joined the Patriots, and teammates like Michael Bennett and Julian Edelman believed Brown had the talent to help deliver another Super Bowl.
However, Brady and Brown’s partnership would be short-lived, disrupted by controversies surrounding Brown’s off-field conduct. Brady did everything he could to make Brown feel at home, offering him everything from rides to the training facility to access to his personal trainer and nutrition regimen.
According to Bennett, Brady’s message to Brown was clear: “Just come to work and do what you’re supposed to do.” Reflecting on the season during the Games With Names podcast, Edelman admitted, “We would have won the Super Bowl if he had stayed.”
Michael Bennett and Julian Edelman talk about what it was like to have Antonio Brown on the Patriots and thinks they could've won the Super Bowl in '19 if he stayed:@Edelman11 @mosesbread72 pic.twitter.com/nN3wcCvW3N
— Games with Names (@gameswithnames) November 6, 2024
Despite Brady’s efforts, Brown’s personal troubles became a roadblock. Within a week of joining the Patriots, serious allegations surfaced against Brown, including accusations of sexual misconduct. His former trainer, Britney Taylor, filed a lawsuit, claiming he had assaulted her. That got settled later, though.
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Soon after, a second woman came forward, alleging Brown had sent her obscene messages. These mounting controversies proved too much for the Patriots organization, and they released Brown after just one game.
However, the sentiment in Bennett’s and Edelman’s eyes shows just how valuable Brown’s talent was. Ironically, Brown would later join Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, where they captured Super Bowl LV together. In that game, Brown contributed a touchdown, helping Brady secure his seventh Lombardi Trophy and giving Brown his first.
The “what if” surrounding Brown’s time with the Patriots remains a point of speculation, but for Patriots fans, it’s a bittersweet chapter in the Brady-Belichick era.