Tom Brady signed his new two-year, $50 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday. In essence, it truly brought home the point that the Patriots legend is no longer going to be taking the field in Foxboro. After 20 years under center for the New England Patriots, seeing Brady in a new uniform will certainly be a bit of an adjustment for Patriots fans. However, it does not diminish his perfect legacy with the team.
Six Super Bowl wins, four Super Bowl MVP awards, 14 Pro Bowls, and three MVP Awards are just some of the things on his resume. His 219 regular season wins, 17 division titles, and four Super Bowl MVP awards are also nothing to scoff at either.
Brady always proved that he had a knack for the dramatic, putting together 58 game-winning drives, a number that includes postseason play.
Especially in terms of the postseason, he pretty much has every record in the book. His 2,838 Super Bowl passing yards is certainly a remarkable number, especially when you consider that he has been to the Super Bowl nine times.
He has done it all for the New England Patriots. What happens in Tampa Bay what will not diminish his legacy whatsoever. He may have a down year, he may struggle in a new offense, and he may not be able to find the magic that worked so well in the bowels of Gillette Stadium. However, he is the best quarterback in franchise history. Especially when you consider the types of teams that he faced and beat in the biggest moments, it’s hard to argue otherwise.
He beat a St. Louis Rams team in his second season, one that featured the likes of Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Issac Bruce, and Torry Holt. He took on the “Greatest Show on Turf” and beat them in the Super Bowl on a final, methodical drive that ended with an Adam Vinatieri field goal. That was only the beginning.
He was able to defeat a Seattle Seahawks defense that was widely considered one of the best in football in 2014 to capture his fourth Super Bowl. He led a New England team down from a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, a team that had the third-best passing offense in 2016. These teams were no slouch, and Brady played a big part in helping conquer them all.
Something I always refer to is the fact that it’s almost like Brady had two careers. From 2001-2005, we saw the youthful Tom Brady. Although the years in between 2005-2013 were full of playoff appearances and two Super Bowl appearances, there started to be some doubt that Brady would be able to get back to the Super Bowl.
Then, the infamous game in 2014 against Kansas City happened. Brady was not himself that night and people began to question if he was nearing the end of his career. Those murmurs seemed to ignite Brady’s competitive fire even more. He manged to parlay the doubts of others into success.
From there, we saw four additional Super Bowl appearances. For about 99% of quarterbacks in the National Football League, the first half of Tom Brady’s career would be considered excellent. The fact that Brady managed to have two separate successful runs is something unprecedented, and also something we may never see in the game again. The fact that he was able to put together multiple solid runs was truly impressive to watch, especially when you consider that he was doing most of this in his late 30s.
Brady’s move to Tampa Bay should not diminish his legacy whatsoever. He was the ultimate competitor while he was here, and he truly gave it his all. If anything, what he does in Tampa Bay is proverbial gravy. He not only established a legacy, he solidified it in New England.