The New England Patriots dynasty might finally have fallen.
Two days after the Tennessee Titans knocked the Patriots out in the wild-card round, Boomer Esiason opened Monday's "Boomer and Gio" show by saying, "I think it's over up in New England.
"I think Tom Brady's not going to be there, unless he takes a reduced salary," Esiason said. "Because the way this whole thing is sounding, it sounds like Brady wants to play and he wants to get paid.
"I think that they would take him back for like, 'Hey, we'll pay you $15 million, but we ain't paying you $30 million,'" Esiason continued. "That's what I'm saying to you. And I'm also saying that there could be another franchise out there that is -- and I don't know who this franchise would be -- that would take a flier on a two-year deal and pay him a lot of money to sell tickets and gain interest. Now could it be Carolina? Could it be the Chargers? I don't think it would be the Bears. I don't know who else it could be. I mean, like, there's a very short list of teams where you think possibly that could happen."
Esiason added that CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora spoke to Brady's agent, Don Yee, who indicated the six-time Super Bowl champion wants to play in 2020, when he'll be 43 years old.
And Brady might not be the only one leaving Foxborough.
"What happens with (offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels?" Esiason said. "What happens with some of their player personnel and front-office people? Jason La Canfora on Saturday night made it sound like there's going to be a mass exodus out of New England with all the support people and Josh McDaniels, and Tom Brady's not going to be there."
Esiason's co-host, Gregg Giannotti, said he finds the speculation that Brady is seeking top dollar strange.
"I just want to know why Tom Brady now is going to be concerning himself with the money, because he never has," Giannotti said. "Even when he was in his prime, he was always taking fewer dollars to make it easier for the Patriots to build a roster. Now you're going to tell me at 42 years old he's only concerned about the money?"
To listen to the open from Monday's "Boomer and Gio" show, in which the guys discuss all the weekend's NFL wild-card action, click on the audio player above.
