Julian Edelman recalls nearly ditching Tom Brady to join rivals after bitter 2013 season

Julian Edelman spent his entire NFL career with the New England Patriots. He helped the franchise win three Super Bowl rings and was named the MVP for one of them.

While he's clearly a Patriots legend, he apparently contemplated leaving New England during the free agency period following the 2013 NFL season.

Here's what Julian Edelman had to say about the situation during an episode of the "Games with Names" show:

"It was a good breakout year. That's where it all changed. Almost became a Giant after that year. Would have been fun, but then I took a trip out to go potentially play with my hometown 49ers. Then the Patriots ante up and gave me some extra coin."

Edelman was looking to get more money and was tempted by the San Francisco 49ers.

"I was trying to get money up a little bit. I mean, when you get there and you go and walk in the facility and you see the pictures of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, you know what I mean ... those are the things that I grew up on. I love those guys. And they were actually going to pay me more money."

He went on to discuss how things were at the time, as he was in a contract year:

"I loved Boston at the time. I liked the system, the ecosystem. I liked the coaching and then, you know, the quarterback .. but everything lets you go and do your own thing when you're in that free agent world ... It's like a stand off in the facility when you're there in your contract year."

Bill Belichick is one of the only NFL head coaches to ever also serve as the general manager of his team simultaneously. He's been known to use unique and aggressive tactics in his coaching style, so it should come as no surprise to learn that he uses a similar strategy in his managerial role.

It seems to have worked with Julian Edelman, keeping him with the Patriots for less money than his hometown team offered him.

"Bill (Belichick) would try to corner you in and try to like talk about contracts without your agent and stuff and try to like bully you. Not bully you, but like, you know, he's just like sometimes you got to cut out the middle man and get the deal done right there. But I would always play dumb like, 'I don't know this stuff I'm just a dumb football players.' I would always tell him that.

"I don't know if he was trying to go around my agent, but you would see him in the cafeteria like, 'Hey Jules, come sit down.' In fact, everything he said made me want to go. 'Look, like, you're not the best f***ing receiver in the league.' It's a negotiation tactic ... He got me. He got me for a good price. I mean, you got to tip your hat to the guy ... Belichick's clearly got game."

Julian Edelman's contract was a major bargain for the Patriots in 2014

Julian Edelman

The New England Patriots dynasty lasted two decades in the 2000s. They built a reputation for paying their players a bit less to form a deeper and more complete overall roster.

Their strategy can't really be criticized, as it resulted in six Super Bowl rings in nine appearances. Even Tom Brady was well known for taking contract pay cuts to allow the franchise to sign more valuable pieces.

Julian Edelman is another example of a player they got at a discounted price ahead of the 2014 NFL season. He agreed to a four-year contract worth $17 million with the Patriots, despite receiving offers from at least the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in free agency.

His contract ranked as just the 45th highest-paid wide receiver at the time he signed it. It worked out as the Patriots went on to win three more rings over the next five years.