An NFL pundit believes a leaked email sent by Bill Belichick uncovers a different side to the coach which might explain his previous beef with . The duo are said to have rowed over Brady's future ahead of the 2017 season in a predicament that saw a talented quarterback leave the New England Patriots.

An email purportedly sent by Belichick was shared by his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson on Instagram. It came after a to promote his book, The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football. The 73-year-old's chat with the host was frequently interrupted by Hudson, and she later used the email to point out that her boyfriend had been upset with media coverage over the memoir.

An excerpt of the email read: "I don't think this is fantastic, but it probably will hype the book, which is clearly the ongoing theme here. This is about what I expected from the media."

Now, pundit Bill Simmons has claimed that the email shows a different side to Belichick that fans do not see. He believes it may uncover a new element to the clash of personalities between the much-loved coach and NFL icon Brady during their time with the Patriots.

The quarterback was determined to sign a long-term contract despite being in his late 30s, which effectively forced the Patriots to trade away the highly-rated younger star Jimmy Garoppolo.

"Everyone was like, 'Patriot Way, Patriot Way, we're just about Super Bowls'. But there was clearly some sort of ego thing and it's two guys that really understood their place in history in a whole bunch of different ways," Simmons told the Ryen Russillo podcast.

"And it was always like, 'We're in this together, there's no credit'. But the credit thing was a big part of it and Garoppolo is in there and [Brady's] really thinking about - I never wanted to believe it. When ESPN and people like that were reporting about it, I was like, ''F*** that. I don't wanna hear this. Stop trying to cause trouble'. But there clearly was a ton of trouble."

According to the referenced 2018 ESPN report, Belichick was frustrated by Brady's insistence on a long-term deal, which prompted Garoppolo to consider his future, as his pathway to becoming an NFL regular would have been blocked by one of the game's greatest-ever players.

Brady allegedly refused to mentor Garoppolo, who the Patriots had been trying to sign to a long-term contract. But Garoppolo, having decided he might not get game time, reportedly turned down several offers that would have paid around £12.7 million per season.

Belichick and Brady have since spoken positively about each other.