Yahoo Finance Tom Brady says don't read anything into him putting Massachusetts house up for sale
New England Patriots followers collectively lost it last week when news came that Tom Brady and his wife, Gisele Bündchen, put their custom-built home in Brookline, Mass. up for sale.
On Monday, Brady tried to calm the masses.
‘You shouldn’t read into anything’
Making his first Monday appearance of the new season on Boston radio station WEEI, Brady was of course asked about the timing of the real estate listing.
“You shouldn't read into anything. I think it takes a long time to sell a house. My house is a little bit of an expensive one, so it doesn't fly off the shelf in a couple weeks,” Brady said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.
Several years ago, Brady and Bündchen purchased five acres of land from Pine Manor College, a tiny liberal arts school in the pricey Chestnut Hill area. They had a five-bedroom, 7-bathroom home custom built on the property; there’s also a 2,400 square foot detached guest house with yoga studio and an in-ground pool.
Listing price: $39.5 million.
On its face, Brady’s new contract looked like an extension through 2021, but in reality it was a pay bump for this year, and Brady could become a free agent in 2020 — the contract has a clause that says New England can’t use the franchise or transition tag on him.
Add that to the news from the New York Post that Brady and Bündchen were house-hunting in the New York City suburbs (specifically Greenwich, Conn. and Alpine, N.J.), and you have a freak-out from Patriots fans.
Now entering his 20th NFL season, Brady has continually said he wants to play until he’s 45; he celebrated his 42nd birthday on August 3.
‘Any decision has to consider everything’
While Brady has continually downplayed his status and spoken highly of his relationship with the Patriots, particularly owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick, he noted that he has a lot of things to think about in his personal and professional life.
“I think I'm at a point in my life where there's a lot of considerations that go into playing. I have a very busy professional life, I have a very busy personal life,” Brady said. “Any decision that's made has to consider everything. I'm certainly at a place where I've been in the same place for a long time, and I love playing for the Patriots. I have such a great relationship with Mr. Kraft, Coach Belichick and our team. We'll just worry about that when that happens. This isn't the time to worry about it.”
But he said he’s focused on the 2019 season and things he can control.
“I think I'm in a great mental, emotional place to approach the season,” Brady said. “There is no point in worrying about things like that. There are so many hypotheticals, this and that, and if you spend time all your time and energy on those things, you [lose] track of what's most important, which is what's happening right now.
“This is where I want to be. This is the team I want to be a part of, and leading. I'm really excited about doing that. There's really not much to read into it than that.”
‘I’m just focused on this season’
Belichick always stresses to players that they should control what they can control — their effort, preparation and the like — and Brady repeatedly stressed that in his Monday interview as well.
He wouldn’t discuss the hypothetical of having contract negotiations during the season, nor would he discuss why he wanted the no-franchise-tag clause.
“Those are some personal feelings, and there's a lot of personal conversations I've had that really aren't for other people's knowledge,” he said. “I think what this is about is this season and dealing with this year. Beyond this year, whether it's signing five more years, or signing a franchise tag, or not playing, none of those things needed to be decided this year. I'm just focused on this season and being in the right mental, emotional frame of mind to go out there and perform at the highest level.”
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