Bill Belichick wasn’t transparent about the biggest decision in the history of the New England Patriots’ franchise.

Stunning, I know.

Belichick didn’t take kindly to a reporter’s questions about the upcoming decision for the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady. Belichick met with reporters on Sunday morning after the team’s wild-card playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.

With Brady’s contract expiring and his future in New England in question, the obvious line of questioning seemed obvious: What can Belichick tell fans about the future for the greatest quarterback of all time? The answer, unsurprisingly, was almost nothing. He opened his press conference by saying “the future is the future.”

Does Belichick have a timeline for Brady’s decision?

“No,” Belichick said.

Does he hope for clarity before the league year begins?

“Look, I mean, I know it’s out there, just like there are a lot of over things out there,” Belichick said. “There are 50 questions, just like that one. And I told you my status on that, so you can ask all 50 of them. It’s going to be the same answer all 50 times. We’re on Tennessee. It’s hours out on the game. I’m not going to talk about the future, because I’m not prepared.”

The reporter started to say he didn’t have 50 questions.

Belichick interrupted: “I’m sure you do. We have 50 guys. You could talk about anything you want in the future. And they’re all questions that need to be answered at some point in time by the organization, by the coaching staff and by some of the players. But those are collective decisions that are made collectively. And there’s a lot of time and effort and communication that goes into that. And now is now the time.”

The reporter began to ask a question about what Belichick would say to Brady, if the quarterback said he wanted to be back in 2020.

Belichick interrupted: “Then it’s the same answer I just gave you. We can just keep going if you want to.”

The reporter finished the question, noting Belichick’s interruption.

“Then I can give you the same answer I just gave you on the other one, so we can go through some more, if you want to. That’s fine,” Belichick said.

While the conversation felt circular, Belchick did reveal he hasn’t made a decision on Brady. The evaluation and negotiation process is likely to begin soon, and Belichick is right to say the Patriots will have to take their time with this decision. Losing Brady could be costly. At the same time, keeping Brady, at at time when he’s clearly in reliance, may also prove costly.