Did Tom Brady’s Dolphins discussions lead to the demise of his marriage with Gisele Bündchen?
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio passed on the NFL gossip as a guest Friday on Barstool’s “Pardon My Take.”
“There’s a theory in league circles, and I think I’m couching it properly, that the issues with Tom Brady and his wife blew up when the league announced the punishment of the Dolphins. Because of the flirtation with Brady, because she had, as the theory goes, no idea he was talking to the Dolphins.
“But I’m telling you, there are people who are employed by NFL teams who think that. And when you look at the timeline, that stuff came out, and it was the next day he started missing practices,” Florio said, referring to Brady’s 11-day absence from the Buccaneers’ training camp.
Let’s check the timeline to see if it backs up what even Florio conceded was “reckless speculation.”
The NFL announced on Aug. 2 that it suspended Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for the first six weeks of the 2022 season for tampering with Brady and former Saints coach Sean Payton — and hit Ross with a $1.5 million fine.
“The Dolphins had impermissible communications with quarterback Tom Brady in 2019-20, while he was under contract to the New England Patriots,” the league said in a statement, noting that those “detailed discussions” were conducted by Bruce Beal, the vice chairman and limited partner of the Dolphins.
Florio had led the charge on coverage around a Brady-Dolphins connection prior to the NFL announcement. The story, despite involving the biggest name in the sport, did not gain a lot of national attention.
“The Dolphins again had impermissible communications with both Mr. Brady and his agent [Don Yee] during and after the 2021 season, while he was under contract to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” the league stated.
“Those discussions began no later than early December 2021 and focused on Mr. Brady becoming a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive, although at times they also included the possibility of his playing for the Dolphins. Both Messrs. Ross and Beal were active participants in these discussions.”
A week-and-a-half later, it was announced out of nowhere that Brady would be taking a leave from the team.
When Brady returned to the team on Aug. 22, he said that his excused absence was due to “personal” reasons. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said both sides discussed the absence ahead of training camp.
Last month, Page Six was first to report that Brady and Bündchen’s martial issues started with a fight over the quarterback’s decision to un-retire from the NFL. Brady announced that he was returning for a 23rd season in March, ending his 40-day retirement.
On Friday, Brady and Bündchen confirmed in separate statements that they finalized their divorce in “recent days,” and that the split was amicable.
Brady and Bündchen — who share son Benjamin, 12, daughter Vivian, 9, as well as son Jack, 15, from one of Brady’s previous relationships — have been living separately.
The terms of Brady and Bündchen’s divorce settlement will remain confidential and sealed, according to TMZ, which reported the ex-couple filed the legal papers in Florida.
Sources with direct knowledge of the couple’s marital struggles told the website that lawyers for both Brady and Bündchen have been working with a mediator to determine property settlement and custody.
