Tom Brady on Feeling Appreciated by Bill Belichick: ‘I Plead the Fifth’

Despite that odd answer, Brady confirmed he will be back for the 2018 season.

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots takes the field before playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots takes the field before playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Getty Images

During an hour-long interview with Jim Gray at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California, New England quarterback Tom Brady gave some answers Patriots wanted to hear and some they didn’t.

On the “wanted to hear” side, Brady told Gray he’d be returning to the Pats and 2018 and reiterated his desire to play into his mid-40s as long as he is healthy and playing well.

“I have personal goals. I want to keep playing,” Brady said. “I’ve said for a long time I want to play to my mid-40s. I was told three years, when I was 36-37, ‘You can’t keep playing; no one wins Super Bowls [at that age].’ It’s a great challenge for me. I think I’ve been challenged my whole life. I feel like I can do it.”

On the other hand, Brady had an odd response when he was asked if he feels appreciated by Patriots owner Robert Kraft and New England head coach Bill Belichick.

“I plead the Fifth,” Brady said. “I think everybody in general wants to be appreciated more in their professional life, but there’s a lot of people that appreciate me way more than I ever thought was possible as part of my life. You have different influences in your life and the people I work with, they’re trying to get the best out of me. So they’re trying to treat me in the way they feel is going to get the best out of me, and I’ve got to get the best out of myself.”

While that statement isn’t actually all that negative about Belichick, Brady also revealed he did have some misgivings about his coach’s decision to bench Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl.

“I don’t make the decisions,” Brady said. “I am telling you the truth. I wish he would have played, but the coach chose not to play him and we still had a chance to win … I don’t know what was a part of that decision-making, but I know we were trying to win the game. I don’t think we were trying to do anything but win.”

Here’s the full interview:

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