Buccaneers confirm we will be ordering Tom Brady No. 12 jerseys

It was surely a mere formality, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have confirmed Tom Brady will wear No. 12 for them.

The signing of Tom Brady has led to a surge in sales of Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ merchandise, and of course, Brady’s new jersey — despite it not yet being known what number he would wear. Wide receiver Chris Godwin has worn Brady’s famous No. 12 in Tampa Bay, but seemed ready to relinquish it without much fight.

On Tuesday, the Buccaneers confirmed Brady will indeed be wearing No. 12 for them. Godwin apparently offered the number to Brady, and according to the team website he was not compensated. Godwin will switch to No. 14. Cornerback John Franklin wore No. 14 for a game last season, and he’ll go back to No. 43. In Buccaneers’ history, quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde, Brad Johnson and Ryan Fitzpatrick have notably worn No. 14.

The Buccaneers are also set to announce a new logo and color scheme at some point. The franchise’s original creamsicle colors and “Bucco Bruce” are the easy answers there, even before possibly being able to use those throwbacks for a game or two in 2021.

Anyone who has already ordered a Brady Buccaneers jersey was not going to see it until his number was confirmed anyway. But now those of us on the Buccaneers’ bandwagon who have yet to order one now have it confirmed he’ll wear No. 12, as he of course did with the Patriots, while crossing our fingers it’ll be an option to get a creamsicle-colored version.

Through all his years in New England, despite nothing ever changing beyond a throwback version, Brady’s jersey was consistently among the best sellers in the NFL. If anything, knowing for sure Brady will be wearing No. 12 in Tampa Bay will bring a nice secondary surge in sales of his jersey.