Tom Brady to sign with Buccaneers: Grade, reaction and more
Tom Brady will officially be moving on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so how did they do with this move?
It seems like football fans have entered the bizarro universe to see Tom Brady putting on a different uniform next season. The legendary quarterback is trading in his Patriots’ blue for pewter, signing a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that will pay him $30 million a year on average.
Brady did show signs of slippage at the end of the season, but a part of that is due to the lack of weapons that New England had to put at his disposal. That will no longer be an issue since Brady will now be throwing passes to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, arguably the best pass-catching tandem in the NFL.
The good news for Tampa Bay is that Brady will also be a much more efficient quarterback than outgoing starter Jameis Winston. The Bucs saw Winston lead the NFL in passing yardage and throw for 33 touchdowns, but he also led the league in interceptions.
Those turnovers drove Bruce Arians crazy, and now he won’t have to worry about that with one of the most efficient quarterbacks in football coming to town.
Contract Details
Full details of Brady’s contract have not been released quite yet, but he will be making an average of $30 million per year with the Buccaneers, which is a significant pay increase compared to his time in New England.
National Reaction
The #Bucs’ contract with new QB Tom Brady, one that pays him up to $30M on a per-year basis, is agreed to and finalized, sources say. Not that there was any doubt, but there were no issues. All that’s left is for @TomBrady to announce it.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2020
Tom Brady doesn’t just blow the Buccaneers' history out of the water: he has three times as many titles as the Bucs, Rays and Lightning combined and more division titles, in 73 fewer seasons. pic.twitter.com/mj7BzbPRDl
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 18, 2020
BREAKING: Tom Brady has an agreement in principle to join the Buccaneers. The deal is roughly $30M per year. (via @Rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/sW217u2PvF
— NFL (@NFL) March 17, 2020
I'm sorry, as much as I like the fit for Brady in Tampa, I can't yet wrap my mind around No. 12 in red, orange and pewter with a pirate helmet. That's more like something "corny Tom" would wear trick or treating with his kids.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 18, 2020
Simply put, this was a move that Tampa Bay had to make. The Buccaneers had the cap room to get a deal done and they haven’t made the playoffs since 2007, the longest drought in the NFL this side of Cleveland.
While Brady won’t be in Tampa for more than a few years, he immediately makes them a playoff contender and buys the organization valuable time to figure out its long term plan under center.
The price tag is also extremely rich for a 43-year old quarterback, but Brady was not leaving New England unless he got paid handsomely. For a team like Tampa Bay, that is simply the cost of doing business to land the greatest quarterback of all time.
Grade: A
Next. Tom Brady to Tampa creates a whole new NFL world. dark