Tom Brady says he doesn’t care about his legacy and that’s not why he left the Patriots

Tom Brady told Howard Stern when he decided he was going to leave the New England Patriots. 

Legacy is a big word thrown around whenever we need to quantify the worth of someone’s career. Was it just a regular old NFL career or was it something that will be remembered long after that player stops playing?

Tom Brady’s legacy is still being written, and its latest chapter is perhaps the most interesting. For the first time in his career, Brady will suit up for a team other than the New England Patriots and play for a coach who isn’t Bill Belichick.

Whether he wants to accept it or not, how he does in Tampa Bay compared to how the Patriots do without him will be a part of his legacy. Like the Jordan vs. LeBron debate, these next few seasons will draw a line in the sand between those who think the Patriots dynasty was because of Brady and those who think it was all Belichick.

Brady very poignantly told Howard Stern on Wednesday that he could care less about not only that debate but any debate about his legacy as a whole.

“I never cared about legacy, I could give a shit about it,” Brady told Stern. “Why would I choose a different place? It was just time.”

Stern was trying to get to the root of why Brady left the Patriots this offseason, choosing to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — one of the league’s most uninspired teams. The common thought is that Brady wants to prove he can win without Belichick just as much as Belichick probably wants to do the same.

But Brady says two decades with the same team wears you out more than the debate on who deserves credit for the success. That’s one of the mains reasons he left the Patriots, and it’s up to fans as to whether or not they believe him.

“I accomplished everything I could in two decades with an incredible organization,” Brady said. “No one can ever take that away from me.”

While Brady was pretty candid and laid back about talk of his legacy, saying no one can take it away from him seems oddly defensive. But who is it meant to combat? The media who have harped on that narrative or is it a safeguard against Belichick winning without him?

There’s no doubt that the Patriots success had a great deal to do with Brady being one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. But for as definitive as Brady was about his legacy, we’re still no closer to settling the debate long after this chapter has been written.