Tom Brady should retire as a New England Patriot....and the Patriots should pay him the money that means he can do so.

But this isn't about money. Brady has more money that God.

It's about the success. Brady won the team six Super Bowls. He ran the offenses like a conductor. Sure, he didn't have the cannon of a Peyton Manning or an Aaron Rodgers, but his ability to hit his receivers who remarkable.

About that. His receivers.

Last season every Patriot and Patriot-hater was equally excited that Antonio Brown coming to town. BradyBrown would be unstoppable....that was until Antonio Brown continued to commit career suicide, and the cupboard was bare.

With virtually no-one around, the fact that the Pats ended up with a 12-4 regular season was nothing short of miraculous.

This year at the NFL Draft you won't be able to throw a stone without hitting a good college wide receiver. The Pats have 12 picks out of the first 100. Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft shouldn't overthink this one.

And while Brady is talking to other teams at the NFL Combine in the hotels of Indianapolis (probably not while the rest of the Combine guys are solidifying their arteries at St Elmo's), the Patriots apparently haven't started talking yet. Presumably they are watching the market and waiting to drive it up.

They may well unload six of their draft picks, fly up the first round, and go get a Tua, Herbert or Jordan Love, but there's a little bit of a problem there: There isn't going to be anyone as good as Brady, and we doubt Brady will want to play babysitter, either.

Also, there's another big reason that the Pats need Brady: Merchandise and ticketing.

There are more 12s there during the NFL season than at a middle school prom, and that makes the Pats. In 2018 they made $600 million in revenue. That wasn't all from luxury boxes and seats. They probably did OK from Brady apparel, too. If Jay-Z was bigger than the Yankee cap, then Brady put the 'B' in Boston.

If Brady leaves, the fans won't be buying the merchandise any more. Tickets will still be rough to get a hold of, but the luxury box sales won't be as easy a sale if the Pats can't sell the 'Hey, come see Brady' to the whales visiting B-Town this season.

So in other words, do the right thing, Pats. Give Brady the contract he deserves for the last two years of his career.

And then give him the send-off that he deserves.