The press tour for Bill Belichick’s upcoming book, The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football, seems to have unfortunately generated more tabloids than preorders in recent days. Following a series of outbursts made by his girlfriend, Jordan Hudson, amidst Belichick’s CBS interview, the 24 year old leaked a screenshot of the former New England Patriot voicing several complaints about the ongoing press tour.
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Amongst the various complaints and concerns about the media’s influence on the perception of his book, Belichick, in one instance, referred to himself as “the leader” of the Patriots’ dynasty. Naturally, the proved to be more than enough to rile up the media once again.
During the latest episode of Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports, Mike Florio suggested that Belichick’s private comments about New England were just as inflammatory as the status of his relationship.
“First of all… He had nothing to do with increasing the value of the Patriots. The Washington franchise went from $800 million to $6 billion with one of the worst owners we’ve ever seen… The value of every franchise went up because the NFL maneuvered. It has nothing to do with Bill Belichick, he hasn’t made the Patriots more valuable, Robert Kraft has,” Florio outlined.
According to Florio, Belichick may be “a little full of himself” for suggesting that he had a hand in inflating the value of the Patriots. For all of the criticism that the former NFL head coach has received throughout the offseason, Florio offers what are perhaps some of the more genuine concerns.
Citing everything from the Supreme Court’s ruling on sports gambling to the influence of Roger Goodell, the career analyst asserted that Belichick was responsible for the Super Bowl wins, nothing more and nothing less.
Nearly every single time an NFL franchise goes up for sale, which is already considered to be a rare occurrence as it is, that team in particular nets an all-time offer in exchange for its ownership rights. Seeing as the average team owner has a mega yacht at their disposal, it’s safe to say that the impact that a head coach can have on a team’s overall value is rather miniscule in the long run.
While having the most Lombardi trophies in the league certainly doesn’t hurt New England’s bottom line, any financial boost that Belichick could have been responsible for has since passed. However, it is worth noting that his comments were clearly made out of frustration, so it’s worth giving the Tar Heels newfound signal caller the benefit of the doubt.
Seeing as the email was likely shared without his knowledge or consent as well, it seems rather unfair to criticize him for comments that were meant to be kept behind closed doors. Nevertheless, Belichick will have to juggle the remaining controversies of his press tour before ultimately settling in at Chapel Hill for the upcoming 2025 regular season.
Something that’s likely much easier said than done.
