NFL great Tom Brady has revealed that the Chicago Bears made an approach for him back in 2020 – but the legendary quarterback decided to reject their advances to be nearer his son.

With his storied 20-year spell with the New England Patriots having come to a close at the end of the 2019 campaign, speculation linked him with a host of potential suitors. A six-time Super Bowl winner by this point, the Los Angeles Chargers and the Miami Dolphins were widely mentioned as being involved tussle for his signature.

However, before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eventually won the race for his services, it has now emerged that the Chicago Bears had designs on bringing Brady to Illinois. That is according to the retired football superstar himself, who made the revelation during Bucs’ clash with the Philadelphia Eagles at the weekend.

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Speaking during the broadcast on FOX Sports, the network’s newly-installed NFL analyst recalled the negotiations with recruitment chiefs in Chicago, saying: “Ultimately, Chicago was a team — and I never told that story before — they were very stealth in their recruitment. I was seriously considering them.”

Ultmately, Brady’s personal life ended up being a barrier to him deciding to pursue a new chapter with the Bears, with the devoted dad deciding that he wanted to be located near to his son, Jack. He said: “But in the end, it came down to Tampa. It was close to my son Jack, I love [then-Bucs coach] Bruce Arians and the role he played in the offense, and ultimately, the great players like [star wide receivers] Mike Evans and Chris Godwin that I’m still out there watching today.”

This detail left colleague Kevin Burkhardt visibly shocked, with Brady divulging that a conscious decision was made to keep their negotiations secret until now. He said: “You know what? They were really under the radar.

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“And nobody would’ve realized that. Free agency is a tricky thing and once you make your decision there was no looking back, so there’s no reason to ever tell anybody that.”

Heading to Tampa Bay instead proved to be an inspired decision on the retired quarterback’s part as he won a seventh Super Bowl in his first season with his new employers. The wisdom of his call was not lost on the superstar, who added: “I just felt like ultimately I made a great decision coming to Tampa.

“And what we accomplished as a team, and relationships with [general manager] Jason Licht and his whole staff and all the players … it meant so much to me. Three years later, [after] I left, I realize how important this place has been in my football journey.”