As most of us that follow American professional sports recently found out former New England Patriots quarterback and the all time NFL great, Tom Brady, was leaving the Patriots this offseason and pursue the free agency market of the National Football League. Shortly after that news broke, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What most of us didn’t realize is that Brady was the one who pitched the idea of him joining the Bucs to the Tampa Bay front office.

March 18th, 2020 marked the first day of the free agency period in the National Football League, and that is exactly when Brady contacted the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jason Licht. According to sources the greatest NFL quarterback of all time and Licht had a nice long almost conversation lasting just under two hours. On that call apparently Brady was all business at first attempting to sell himself as to why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should sign the 42 year old quarterback.

It did not take long for the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bruce Arians, as well as Licht to agree that Brady would be a great fit for their struggling franchise and an agreement was immediately settled on by both parties. Although critics of Brady believe he is well past his prime and that he is no longer capable of throwing the football hard or deep downfield, the Tampa Bay executives and coaching staff highly disagree with that notion. Personnel of the Buccaneers has publicly stated that they watched recently taken tape of Brady throwing and he still possess all the arm strength and accuracy to remain as one of the elite quarterbacks in the National Football League.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Potent Offensive Weapons

This is a dream scenario for the Bucs as they have a great young core of solid players to surround Brady and his golden arm with. At the wide receiver position Tampa Bay features outstanding talent such as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. They also are blessed with the services of OJ Howard at tight end as well as Ronald Jones II at the running back position to open up the passing game for Brady to throw all over the gridiron to his talented pass catching alliance. One of the main reasons why Brady left the New England Patriots was his lack of offensive weapons to help move the ball and put points up on the board, and it seems like that shouldn’t be a problem as long as the team remains healthy. Look for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be much better this upcoming 2020 – 2021 NFL season now that they won’t have the turnover prone quarterback in Jameis Winston running their offense.

Antonio Brown     

As this story broke the coaches and front office executives of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it crystal clear that the rumors of the troubled and controversial wide receiver, Antonio Brown, may be joining the Bucs was completely untrue. Brady played briefly with Antonio Brown when he was with the New England Patriots last year, but the Patriots released Brown shortly after they signed him. They cited multiple reasons for not pursuing Brown that included they did not have the money that it would require as well as that he was a bad fit for the existing players in the organization and their locker room. In other words, they did not want to bring a head case into franchise that would most definitely cause trouble and distractions no matter how good he was on the field.

Breakdown of Brady’s New Contract with the Buccaneers

CONTRACT TERMS:2 yr(s) / $50,000,000 SIGNING BONUS- AVERAGE SALARY$25,000,000 GTD AT SIGN:$50,000,000 TOTAL GTD:$50,000,000 FREE AGENT:2022 / UFA
BONUS BREAKDOWN CAP DETAILS CASH DETAILS
YEAR AGE BASE SALARY ROSTER CAP HIT DEAD CAP YEARLY CASH
2020 43 $15,000,000 $10,000,000 $25,000,000 $25,000,000 $25,000,000($25,000,000)
2021 44 $15,000,000 $10,000,000 $25,000,000 $25,000,000 $25,000,000($50,000,000)
2022 45 Unrestricted Free Agent
Contract Notes:

·       2020 Roster Bonus $10M (paid 3/23/2020)

·       2021 Roster Bonus: $10M (fully guaranteed, paid 5th league day of 2021)

·       Cannot be tagged

·       Full no-trade clause

·       Passing Incentives (max $2.25M annually, min. 224 pass attempts)
$562,500 each for Top 5 in:
Passer Rating
Touchdowns
Passing Yards
Completion %
Yards per Attempt

·       Playoff Incentives (min. 75% playing time)
$500,000 for a playoff birth
$750,000 for wild card win
$1.25M for NFC Championship
$1.75M for reaching Super Bowl
$2.25M for Super Bowl win

Brady’s NFL Career Statistics

Passing

Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% 1D Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate QBR Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk% 4QC GWD AV
2000 23 NWE QB 12 1 0 1 3 33.3 6 0 0.0 0 0.0 6 2.0 2.0 6.0 6.0 42.4 0 0 2.00 2.00 0.0 0
2001* 24 NWE QB 12 15 14 11-3-0 264 413 63.9 2843 18 4.4 12 2.9 145 91 6.9 6.4 10.8 189.5 86.5 41 216 5.79 5.39 9.0 3 3 12
2002 25 NWE QB 12 16 16 9-7-0 373 601 62.1 3764 28 4.7 14 2.3 185 49 6.3 6.1 10.1 235.3 85.7 31 190 5.66 5.54 4.9 2 3 13
2003 26 NWE QB 12 16 16 14-2-0 317 527 60.2 3620 23 4.4 12 2.3 175 82 6.9 6.7 11.4 226.3 85.9 32 219 6.08 5.94 5.7 3 5 11
2004* 27 NWE QB 12 16 16 14-2-0 288 474 60.8 3692 28 5.9 14 3.0 187 50 7.8 7.6 12.8 230.8 92.6 26 162 7.06 6.92 5.2 0 1 15
2005* 28 NWE QB 12 16 16 10-6-0 334 530 63.0 4110 26 4.9 14 2.6 197 71 7.8 7.5 12.3 256.9 92.3 26 188 7.05 6.86 4.7 3 4 15
2006 29 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 319 516 61.8 3529 24 4.7 12 2.3 176 62 6.8 6.7 11.1 220.6 87.9 67.2 26 175 6.19 6.08 4.8 2 2 14
2007*+ 30 NWE QB 12 16 16 16-0-0 398 578 68.9 4806 50 8.7 8 1.4 240 69 8.3 9.4 12.1 300.4 117.2 88.5 21 128 7.81 8.88 3.5 4 4 24
2008 31 NWE qb 12 1 1 1-0-0 7 11 63.6 76 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 26 6.9 6.9 10.9 76.0 83.9 69.7 0 0 6.91 6.91 0.0 0
2009* 32 NWE QB 12 16 16 10-6-0 371 565 65.7 4398 28 5.0 13 2.3 215 81 7.8 7.7 11.9 274.9 96.2 73.2 16 86 7.42 7.38 2.8 1 1 16
2010*+ 33 NWE QB 12 16 16 14-2-0 324 492 65.9 3900 36 7.3 4 0.8 189 79 7.9 9.0 12.0 243.8 111.0 78.3 25 175 7.21 8.25 4.8 2 3 18
2011* 34 NWE QB 12 16 16 13-3-0 401 611 65.6 5235 39 6.4 12 2.0 262 99 8.6 9.0 13.1 327.2 105.6 75.2 32 173 7.87 8.25 5.0 1 2 21
2012* 35 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 401 637 63.0 4827 34 5.3 8 1.3 256 83 7.6 8.1 12.0 301.7 98.7 76.1 27 182 7.00 7.48 4.1 1 2 18
2013* 36 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 380 628 60.5 4343 25 4.0 11 1.8 226 81 6.9 6.9 11.4 271.4 87.3 62.1 40 256 6.12 6.13 6.0 5 5 13
2014* 37 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 373 582 64.1 4109 33 5.7 9 1.5 221 69 7.1 7.5 11.0 256.8 97.4 76.2 21 134 6.59 7.01 3.5 2 2 16
2015* 38 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 402 624 64.4 4770 36 5.8 7 1.1 229 76 7.6 8.3 11.9 298.1 102.2 68.0 38 225 6.87 7.48 5.7 2 2 17
2016* 39 NWE QB 12 12 12 11-1-0 291 432 67.4 3554 28 6.5 2 0.5 165 79 8.2 9.3 12.2 296.2 112.2 79.1 15 87 7.76 8.81 3.4 1 1 13
2017*+ 40 NWE QB 12 16 16 13-3-0 385 581 66.3 4577 32 5.5 8 1.4 230 64 7.9 8.4 11.9 286.1 102.8 73.2 35 201 7.10 7.56 5.7 2 2 19
2018* 41 NWE QB 12 16 16 11-5-0 375 570 65.8 4355 29 5.1 11 1.9 255 63 7.6 7.8 11.6 272.2 97.7 66.6 21 147 7.12 7.26 3.6 1 2 14
2019 42 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 373 613 60.8 4057 24 3.9 8 1.3 193 59 6.6 6.8 10.9 253.6 88.0 27 185 6.05 6.24 4.2 1 1 11
Career 285 283 219-64-0 6377 9988 63.8 74571 541 5.4 179 1.8 3749 99 7.5 7.7 11.7 261.7 97.0 500 3129 6.81 7.08 4.8 36 45 280

Advanced Passing

Games Passing
Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS Cmp Att Yds IAY IAY/PA CAY CAY/Cmp CAY/PA YAC YAC/Cmp
2018* 41 NWE QB 12 16 16 375 570 4355 4487 7.9 2234 6.0 3.9 2121 5.7
2019 42 NWE QB 12 16 16 373 613 4057 4638 7.6 2233 6.0 3.6 1824 4.9

Playoffs Passing

Year Age Tm Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% 1D Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk% 4QC GWD
2001* 24 NWE QB 3 3 3-0 60 97 61.9 572 1 1.0 1 1.0 29 29 5.9 5.6 9.5 190.7 77.3 5 36 5.25 5.01 4.9 1 2
2003 26 NWE QB 3 3 3-0 75 126 59.5 792 5 4.0 2 1.6 43 52 6.3 6.4 10.6 264.0 84.5 0 0 6.29 6.37 0.0 1 2
2004* 27 NWE QB 3 3 3-0 55 81 67.9 587 5 6.2 0 0.0 32 60 7.2 8.5 10.7 195.7 109.4 7 57 6.02 7.16 8.0 0 1
2005* 28 NWE QB 2 2 1-1 35 63 55.6 542 4 6.3 2 3.2 22 73 8.6 8.4 15.5 271.0 92.2 4 12 7.91 7.76 6.0
2006 29 NWE QB 3 3 2-1 70 119 58.8 724 5 4.2 4 3.4 35 49 6.1 5.4 10.3 241.3 76.5 4 22 5.71 5.06 3.3 1 1
2007*+ 30 NWE QB 3 3 2-1 77 109 70.6 737 6 5.5 3 2.8 41 53 6.8 6.6 9.6 245.7 96.0 8 52 5.85 5.73 6.8
2009* 32 NWE QB 1 1 0-1 23 42 54.8 154 2 4.8 3 7.1 9 24 3.7 1.4 6.7 154.0 49.1 3 22 2.93 0.82 6.7
2010*+ 33 NWE QB 1 1 0-1 29 45 64.4 299 2 4.4 1 2.2 19 37 6.6 6.5 10.3 299.0 89.0 5 40 5.18 5.08 10.0
2011* 34 NWE QB 3 3 2-1 75 111 67.6 878 8 7.2 4 3.6 49 61 7.9 7.7 11.7 292.7 100.4 3 15 7.57 7.39 2.6 1 1
2012* 35 NWE QB 2 2 1-1 54 94 57.4 664 4 4.3 2 2.1 34 47 7.1 7.0 12.3 332.0 84.7 1 9 6.89 6.79 1.1
2013* 36 NWE QB 2 2 1-1 37 63 58.7 475 1 1.6 0 0.0 24 53 7.5 7.9 12.8 237.5 87.7 4 34 6.58 6.88 6.0
2014* 37 NWE QB 3 3 3-0 93 135 68.9 921 10 7.4 4 3.0 56 46 6.8 7.0 9.9 307.0 100.3 4 24 6.45 6.60 2.9 2 2
2015* 38 NWE QB 2 2 1-1 55 98 56.1 612 3 3.1 2 2.0 31 42 6.2 5.9 11.1 306.0 76.6 4 18 5.82 5.53 3.9
2016* 39 NWE QB 3 3 3-0 93 142 65.5 1137 7 4.9 3 2.1 55 48 8.0 8.0 12.2 379.0 97.7 9 42 7.25 7.28 6.0 1 1
2017*+ 40 NWE QB 3 3 2-1 89 139 64.0 1132 8 5.8 0 0.0 60 50 8.1 9.3 12.7 377.3 108.6 4 17 7.80 8.92 2.8 1 1
2018* 41 NWE QB 3 3 3-0 85 125 68.0 953 2 1.6 3 2.4 50 35 7.6 6.9 11.2 317.7 85.8 1 9 7.49 6.74 0.8 1 2
2019 42 NWE QB 1 1 0-1 20 37 54.1 209 0 0.0 1 2.7 11 29 5.6 4.4 10.5 209.0 59.4 0 0 5.65 4.43 0.0
Career 41 41 30-11 1025 1626 63.0 11388 73 4.5 35 2.2 600 73 7.0 6.9 11.1 277.8 89.8 66 409 6.49 6.42 3.9 9 13

Adjusted Passing

Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS QBrec Att Y/A+ NY/A+ AY/A+ ANY/A+ Cmp%+ TD%+ Int%+ Sack%+ Rate+
2001* 24 NWE QB 12 15 14 11-3-0 413 103 99 105 102 117 106 105 86 111
2002 25 NWE QB 12 16 16 9-7-0 601 90 96 102 105 110 111 115 111 110
2003 26 NWE QB 12 16 16 14-2-0 527 101 102 107 107 102 103 115 105 107
2004* 27 NWE QB 12 16 16 14-2-0 474 117 118 117 118 105 122 104 110 115
2005* 28 NWE QB 12 16 16 10-6-0 530 115 117 115 116 111 110 109 113 114
2006 29 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 516 100 104 106 108 105 107 113 110 109
2007*+ 30 NWE QB 12 16 16 16-0-0 578 130 132 142 142 129 153 126 117 148
2009* 32 NWE QB 12 16 16 10-6-0 565 115 122 115 120 116 110 109 125 116
2010*+ 33 NWE QB 12 16 16 14-2-0 492 115 116 127 128 117 135 129 110 130
2011* 34 NWE QB 12 16 16 13-3-0 611 130 132 130 132 118 124 114 110 127
2012* 35 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 637 109 114 117 120 108 111 124 119 116
2013* 36 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 628 95 97 101 102 96 95 115 103 101
2014* 37 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 582 97 106 108 113 107 113 117 122 112
2015* 38 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 624 111 111 119 119 106 116 123 103 119
2016* 39 NWE QB 12 12 12 11-1-0 432 125 131 133 138 119 125 134 123 133
2017*+ 40 NWE QB 12 16 16 13-3-0 581 114 115 118 119 110 112 116 105 117
2018* 41 NWE QB 12 16 16 11-5-0 570 109 116 110 115 109 107 107 123 110
2019 42 NWE QB 12 16 16 12-4-0 613 87 94 95 100 87 93 116 118 95
Career 285 283 219-64-0 9988

Media Statements

“We had a great conversation — Bruce and I — we talked to him for over an hour and a half. And he made it clear in the conversation that he was very, very interested,” says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht. “It was almost like a recruitment on his part, telling us why it would make sense for him to come to Tampa Bay. The next call we made, we signed him, but it was at that phone call that we realized, that we felt like we had him.”

“When Arians was asked if there was one quarterback he’d pick up the phone for, he chuckled and said, Tom Brady.” 

“The tape showed to us that he had plenty of arm. In fact, we thought that he had an ideal arm for Bruce in his system,” Licht explained. “He can still throw it deep. We felt like the mobility was still the same as he’s always had, which, he’s never been able to outrun anybody. But he certainly is good in the pocket in terms of eluding pressure and with his poise and his instincts. We did not see a decline in his arm talent whatsoever. And, in fact, we feel like he could still play for over two years for us, and hopefully that’s the case.”

When Licht was asked about Bruce Arians’ strong statements regarding the troubled superstar wide receiver, Antonio Brown, he replied by saying, “Yeah, it’s not gonna happen. There’s no room. And probably not enough money. But it’s not gonna happen — it’s not a fit here. … It’s not a fit in our locker room.” 

“We feel like there’s a lot of teams that are struggling to find one really good receiver. And we have two really outstanding receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin,” Licht stated. “Right now, there is only so much money that can go around. There are no plans to sign any other receiver at this time. Antonio is somebody that Bruce has come out and had some words about, and Bruce knows him better than all of us. So right now, I would just say that we’re focused on other areas of our team.”