Seth Wickersham is locked into Tom Brady. The longtime investigative journalist highlighted the growing friction between Brady and Bill Belichick five years ago, penning a story about their disagreements over Alex Guerrero.
After that, Wickersham wrote a bombshell expose detailing Brady and Belichick’s increasingly acrimonious relationship, centered around Brady’s belief that he wasn’t receiving enough respect around Gillette Stadium. The article was a prelude to Wickersham’s tell-all book about the rise and fall of the Patriots dynasty, “It’s Better to Be Feared.”
Then last January, Wickersham was the first NFL reporter to publicly talk about Brady’s possible retirement.
That’s all to say: When Wickersham talks about Brady, it’s worth listening. On this week’s edition of my “Sports Media Mayhem” podcast, Wickersham highlights why it’s been such an unusual year for TB12.
“It's been a strangely impulsive year for Tom,” he said. "Obviously, it began late last year, where some of his frustrations with the way the Bucs were being run. He didn't think they were as buttoned-up as maybe they should've been entering the playoffs, and just the pressures of life. He was in Tampa for most of the year. I think a lot of his family was often in New York, where his oldest son lives, or in Miami, where his wife spends a lot of time. Word started to get out that he might call it quits a year earlier than planned. When those reports started to seep out, Jeff [Darlington] and Adam [Schefter] did a great job of reporting it, there was this odd pushback where two people who were so dialed-in were getting pushback from people close to Tom, when in fact those reports were always true, and he was always gonna retire on that Tuesday. But then of course, he retires, and a week later, he's talking about unretiring.
“And it must've weird for to be his family at that time, to be the reason that he claimed he was retiring, and then a month later, he says 'my place is on the field.' It must've just been an odd place for them to be in.”
There’s been an avalanche of recent reports about Brady’s possible marriage strife with Gisele Bundchen. On Wednesday, PEOPLE cited a “source close to Brady” who said the Buccaneers quarterback "will have to retire permanently" if he wants to continue his marriage.
The source says Brady’s retirement was a joint decision, but he decided to return on his own. “[Gisele] doesn't hate that he's playing football, but she sure hates the way he handled the retirement and coming back,” according to the source.
Earlier this month, the New York Post reported that Gisele had left Brady and their children at the family compound in Tampa for Costa Rica "following a series of heated arguments.”
Brady’s mysterious 11-day absence from Buccaneers training camp reportedly included an extended vacation in the Bahamas with his family.
Gisele conceded in a new interview with ELLE magazine she’s conflicted about Brady continuing his football career and would “like him to be more present.”
While Brady and Gisele try to work on their marriage, Wickersham says Brady’s longstanding and complex relationship with Belichick will probably always be full of contradictions.
“I don't think there's always been a 'like' between Brady and Belichick, but there is a ‘love,’” said Wickersham. “And I think that's important. I think when each of them goes into the Hall of Fame, they'll use that word to describe their affection for one another, and it will be sincere. But with that said, they had a divorce.”
