Fox Sports commentator and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady smiles prior to an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles at Raymond James Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Tampa, Florida.
Tom Brady, Chicago Bears quarterback?!
It almost happened, according to Brady himself.
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The legendary quarterback turned FOX broadcaster said on Sunday that he was "seriously considering" signing with the Bears as a free agent in 2020 before he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"There was a lot of reasons to choose Tampa, and I made about 18 criteria why, and there was things all the way from salary, obviously, to the weather to the facilities to how great the players were," Brady said during the FOX broadcast of the Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles game while holding handwritten notecards he used during free agency. "Ultimately, Chicago was a team, and I've never told that story before, they were very stealth in their recruitment. I was seriously considering them."
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Brady, after the 2019 season, had been unable to reach a contract extension with the New England Patriots, having spent 20 seasons and won six Super Bowls with the team.
The Bears were coming off a season in which they finished 8-8 behind quarterback Mitch Trubisky, whom they selected with the second pick in the 2017 draft.
Brady opted to join the Buccaneers, who went 7-9 the prior season with former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston at quarterback.
"But in the end it came down to Tampa," Brady said Sunday. "It was close to my son Jack, I loved Bruce Arians and the role that he played in the offense. And, ultimately, the great players like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin that I'm still out there watching today."
Brady went on to lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory. The Bears, in what would be Trubisky's final season with the team, finished 8-8 and lost in the wild-card round.
The Bears' QB search continued. They drafted Justin Fields in the first round of the 2021 draft -- and after three seasons, traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They then used the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to select Caleb Williams, who helped the Bears improve to 2-2 this season with a 24-18 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
