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Brady leaving New England

Published:Wednesday | March 18, 2020 | 12:16 AM
In this January 4, 2020, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady shakes hands with a fan as he leaves the field after losing an NFL wild-card playoff football game to the Tennessee Titans Foxborough, Massachusetts.
AP
In this January 4, 2020, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady shakes hands with a fan as he leaves the field after losing an NFL wild-card playoff football game to the Tennessee Titans Foxborough, Massachusetts.

FOXBOROUGH (AP) :

The unimaginable has happened to Patriots fans: Tom Brady is moving on.

The predictable has occurred for Saints fans: Drew Brees is staying put.

No matter what else happens in NFL free agency, decisions by those two iconic quarterbacks deserve headlines. And those decisions were as divergent as the regions they have played in.

Brady will be 43 when the next NFL season begins. He also brings with him six Super Bowl rings, four Super Bowl MVP trophies and three regular-season MVP awards. Simply put, he’s the most successful quarterback in pro football history.

And he’s available.

“I don’t know what my football future holds, but it is time for me to open a new stage for my life and my career,” he wrote. “Although my football journey will take place elsewhere, I appreciate everything that we have achieved and am grateful for our incredible TEAM experiences.”

Those experiences – nine Super Bowl trips, six wins – ended with a home loss to Tennessee in the wild-card round in January.

$13.5-million salary cap hit

As a memento for Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who referred to Brady as being like a son, the team will take a $13.5 million salary cap hit because of the signing bonus Brady got for his one-year deal for the 2019 season.

No such issues in the Big Easy. Brees made things, well, easy for the Saints, making it clear he wasn’t leaving New Orleans or Sean Payton’s offence, despite having his contract run out.

Brees, 41, agreed to a two-year, $50-million contract, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because the deal has not been announced.

The 19-year veteran with one NFL title in New Orleans basically gave a hometown discount to the Saints. His deal will not put him in the top 10 quarterbacks for annual salary. But the career leader in completions with 6,867, yards passing with 77,416, and touchdowns with 547, believes New Orleans offers the best place for him to win another championship.

Brees missed five games with a throwing-hand injury that required surgery last season, but still helped New Orleans to a third straight playoff appearance.

Another star passer, Cam Newton, will be departing Carolina. Panthers General Manager Marty Hurney said yesterday on Twitter that “every year difficult decisions are made and they are never easy.”

Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, said on social media he didn’t ask for the trade, telling the Panthers: “You forced me into this.”

Other quarterbacks’ fates were being decided, the second day on which players’ representatives could negotiate with teams. No deals can become official until the league business year begins today at 4p.m. EDT.