The biggest mystery when it comes to the upcoming NFL season heading into Week 1 has nothing to do with anything on the field. The curiosity when it comes to Tom Brady's 11-day, mid-training camp absence still lingers.
Thanks to a piece written by ESPN's Ian Rapoport Sunday morning, some of the pieces to the puzzle may have been finally uncovered.
According to Rapoport:
As for his 11-day hiatus, sources say Brady spent the bulk of it in the Bahamas at a private resort with his family, making good on a mid-retirement promise he made to his wife, Gisele, that he would vacation with them in August for the first time in two decades. During his time off, the Bucs left him alone to be with his family, fully respectful. There were no football conversations, the source said, no playbooks mailed to the Bahamas. It was his personal situation, and they allowed him to live.
Rapoport goes on to surmise that this season - in which the 45 year old will make $30 million (along with a $15 million signing bonus earned from 2021) - could finally be Brady's final one. The quarterback does, after all, have a 10-year, $375 million deal with FOX Sports waiting for him once his playing days are done.