"It was the kind of tension that could only be resolved by some kind of split or one of us reassessing our priorities," Brady said

The cracks in Tom Brady’s and Bill Belichick’s two-decades-long partnership had been splintering long before the quarterback left the Patriots in free agency.

In the latest edition of his newsletter, Brady noted that his departure from the Patriots was a “creeping decision” that had been brewing for “2-3 years” before he signed with the Buccaneers.