Tom Brady made a shocking admission during his return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
The legendary quarterback continued his Fox broadcasting duties in Tampa Bay, where he won one of his seven Super Bowl rings.
However, during coverage of his former team’s 33-16 win against the Philadelphia Eagles, the 47-year-old dropped a bombshell.
Brady revealed that he almost signed with the Chicago Bears in free agency back in 2020 after leaving 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 on Sunday
“Chicago was a team, and I’ve never told that story before, they were very secretive in their recruiting,” he said.
“I was seriously considering it, but in the end it came down to Tampa. And I was close to my son Jack, I loved Bruce Arians and the role he played in the offense and, ultimately, great players like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin whom I still see 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 doing a 180-degree turn in retirement in 2022 before finally walking away from the field for good in 2023.
Former quarterback led Buccaneers to Super Bowl glory after signing in free agency
The three-time MVP brought the notes he had taken while deliberating his decision and held them up to the camera.
Many eagle-eyed fans on social media zeroed in on one particular criterion that Brady had listed on top of the two Bears and Buccaneers cars.
They suggested that the Bears’ notes included a figure of 10 million, while Tampa Bay’s appeared to have 27.5 million written at the top, leading many to claim that Chicago offered him a drastically lower salary.
Meanwhile, the Bears started the 2020 season 5-1, but lost six straight games relying on Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles under center.