Tom Brady defected from the New England Patriots. There were times when it seemed impossible he would wear a different uniform. He won six Super Bowls for the storied franchise. It’s surreal he’s a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
But a veteran agent, Leigh Steinberg, penned a column for Touchdown Wire, and he laid out clearly and logically why Brady made the decision that he did. Steinberg didn’t wade too deeply into the dynamics between Bill Belichick and Brady. The agent did what agents do: he weighed the two options and why one might appeal to a player more than another.
Here’s some of what Steinberg said about it:
“Over the course of his 20-year career, Brady has earned more money than he could ever spend. He is married to a supermodel who has exceeded his wealth. Money, therefore, probably wasn’t a primary factor in his decision-making process. Conversely, determining where he had the best chance to win and be well coached was crucial. No doubt, Brady made a thorough analysis of the Patriots’ roster strength and compared it to the other franchises interested in him. Brady would be acutely aware of what the Patriots’ needs were. He had one star receiver in Julian Edelman, who continued to make plays even when defenses knew the ball was coming to him, but New England has little depth at that position. The loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski had a debilitating effect on his offense last season.
“Tampa Bay offered a strong offensive line. The Buccaneers have a Pro Bowl wide receiver with great size in Mike Evans. They have a talented young tight end in O.J. Howard and an emerging running back in Ronald Jones. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians is a great offensive mind and a motivator with a reputation as a player’s coach. He almost certainly would’ve been part of a critical presentation as to how and why they would win with Brady at the helm. Whatever the Bucs pitched spoke loudly to Brady’s key priority. There had to be positive motivation expressed strongly to the Brady team.”
Brady struggled in 2019, which fueled the narrative that his days as a productive quarterback are dwindling. Perhaps in Tampa, where he’ll have elite pass-catchers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard, Brady can return to form and build upon his legacy.
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