The NFL legend reveals the secret criteria and "stealthy" recruitment process that nearly landed him in the Midway before he ultimately chose a championship run in Tampa.
Tom Brady is widely considered as the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL.
He won seven Super Bowl rings from his time with the New England Patriots (2000-2019) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020-22). He went to the Pro Bowl 15 times and was a three-time First-Team All-Pro and MVP.
The list goes on and on for Brady's accolades throughout his college career.
Brady has been complimentary of the Chicago Bears before. He shouted out former Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright after his breakout season with the franchise last year.
The Bears also have a player on the roster who played with Brady at the Buccaneers, Scotty Miller, but what if Brady played for Chicago?
While it didn't happen, Brady revealed on a Fox Sports broadcast last season that he was close to signing with the Bears in free agency in 2020.
A video clip of the moment surfaced recently on social media.
He brought cards with criteria for all the teams he was considering and brought them to the booth to show Kevin Burkhardt. Brady shared that the Bears were stealthy in recruiting him, and he nearly picked them over the Buccaneers.
Imagine if Brady had been on the Bears during that time.
"I saw them at the house, and I said, 'You know what? I'm bringing these to show KB.'" Brady said. "There was a lot of reasons to choose Tampa, and I had about 18 criteria why. There was things all the way from the salary, obviously, to weather to the facilities. To how great the players were. Ultimately, Chicago was a team, and I've never told that story before; they were very stealth in their recruitment, and I was seriously considering them, but in the end it came down to Tampa."
Let's take a look at how the Bears were doing in 2020.
That season would end up being the final one of Matt Nagy's tenure. Chicago went 8-8 and lost in the Wild Card to the New Orleans Saints 21-9.
The team's starting quarterback at the time was Mitchell Trubisky. No disrespect to Trubisky, but Bears fans would probably take Brady over him if given the chance.
Trubisky threw for 2,055 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions that season.
It's a shame that the Bears didn't go further in the playoffs that year, because they had some weapons. David Montgomery had a 1,000-yard season; the top receiving options were Darnell Mooney, Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, and Jimmy Graham.
The defense still had Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith, Akiem Hicks and many others.
While having Brady sounds like a dream, it could've kept the Bears from getting Caleb Williams and being in the position they are now.
As we know, Brady retired in 2022.
If the Bears were as successful as the Buccaneers were when Brady was there, there's no guarantee they would've ever been in a position to draft Caleb Williams in 2024.
Having Brady would've been great, but the Bears as we know them today may not exist.
