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. When reflecting on the developments of this year’s NFL free agency in his 199 newsletter,

It’s been more than five years since Tom Brady – arguably the greatest NFL player of all time — left the New England Patriots after 20 years in Massachusetts. In those two decades with the Patriots, Brady won six Super Bowls and appeared in three others.

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.