Ty Law is a legend around New England, and though his marriage with the Patriots didn’t end the best way, he still has pretty fond memories of his time in Foxboro.
And it almost got to the point where he returned to Gillette Stadium.
The former cornerback played with the Patriots from 1995 into the 2004 season, getting selected to four Pro Bowls, earning two first-team All-Pro nods and winning three Super Bowls before he was cut by the team. Law’s career took him a few other stops from there, but in 2008, Law nearly came back to the Patriots.
In a letter to his younger self on The Players’ Tribune, Law shared the story of how a meeting with Bill Belichick in a parking lot behind a restaurant almost resulted in a reunion.
“Over the next few years, you’ll spend one season with the Jets — where you’ll lead the league in interceptions — and a couple with Kansas City. But it won’t be anything like you had it up in New England. That place … that team … that whole franchise … it’s special, bro. You’ll be dying to get back there.
In 2008, you’ll have that chance.
It will actually start with Tom Brady. It’ll be a few weeks into the season and you’ll still be a free agent, and Tom will facilitate conversations between you and Bill Belichick — the same coach you won three Super Bowls with — to bring you back.
Coach wants to meet up … but this is 2008, bro. This is the future. Everybody’s got a cell phone, and most phones got cameras on them. It’s wild. So you can’t meet up with coach at a Denny’s or some s***. If someone snaps a photo, the Boston media would be all over that in a heartbeat.
So you’ll meet coach in the back of a restaurant parking lot near your place in Rhode Island. It’ll feel like you’re doing a damn drug deal. You’ll chop it up for a few minutes, talk contract details, throw around some numbers, and then he’ll head back to Foxborough to work on a deal.
You’ll be doing backflips, bro. You’ll hit Tom up and tell him it’s basically a wrap, and he’ll be all excited and ready to announce to the team that you’re coming back once it’s finalized.
Later that day, you’ll get a call from Coach Belichick.
“We can’t do it, Ty”
“What do you mean?”
“I checked the books. We can’t make those numbers work.”
Now, I need you to listen to me close right here. See, when people get older and they’ve had time to reflect like I have, most say they have no regrets. Like, if they could go back, they wouldn’t change a damn thing, because it’s all part of their story and it made them who they are today and this and that. For the most part, I’m like that, too.
But if I could go back to that phone conversation with Coach Belichick, I would say, “Well, tell me what you can make work and let’s do the deal.”
But you won’t do that.
Instead, you’ll get pissed off. It won’t be about the money, it’ll be about the principle. The whole thing will just rub you the wrong way.
So what will you do?
You’ll call up your old DBs coach from New England, Eric Mangini. He’s moved on to become the Jets’ head coach, and he’s waiting for your call. It’s a Tuesday. You’ll drive to New York that night, take a physical on Wednesday, sign that same day and suit up for the Jets for Thursday Night Football.
Against the Patriots.
In Foxborough.
You’ll win that game, too. And for a moment, you’ll feel vindicated. You’ll shake Coach Belichick’s hand after the game. And even though there will be no hard feelings and you’ll have a great relationship with him afterwards, a little part of you will feel good that you stuck it to him in that game.”
Law ultimately played seven games with the Jets that season and seven more with the Denver Broncos in 2009 before retiring. And while he never got that chance to play a few more games in a Patriots uniform in the twilight of his career, he forever was cemented into franchise folklore with an induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2014.
