When asking someone to choose between a six-time Super Bowl champion and a quarterback that hasn't made it as far as the conference championship game in more than a decade, most would opt to go with the former.
But not the Indianapolis Colts and general manager Chris Ballard.
According to NBC Sports NFL analyst Peter King, Tom Brady expressed interest in the Colts during his free agency, but Indianapolis ultimately decided to pursue former Raiders nemesis and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.
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"Though the Brady camp had interest in Indianapolis," King writes. "The Colts seemed to be set on Philip Rivers on a shorter deal. All other teams in his universe (the Chargers most notably) were further from Brady’s New York home."
Brady is four years Rivers' senior, but the two were just a half-point apart in passer rating last season (Rivers 88.5, Brady 88.0).
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It also comes as a surprise given Brady's history with Indianapolis, the team that started the infamous "Deflategate" controversy back in 2016, leading to a four-game suspension for the signal-caller.
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Had Brady ended up staying in the AFC instead of joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that likely would have been another team the Raiders would have had to overcome in order to secure a wild-card spot in the playoffs.
Las Vegas will face both Indianapolis and Tampa Bay in 2020, so we'll see whether Ballard and his front office made the right decision in regards to his new franchise quarterback.