Tom Brady’s reputation as an excellent teammate is following him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Tampa Bay Times provided unique perspective on how Brady landed with Tampa.
Apparently, Brady aced the interview process. While he spoke by phone with coach Bruce Arians and general manager Jason Licht, Brady fielded questions, but then turned the tables, with questions of his own. He was impressed with Arians’ offense and Brady seemed open to running it.
He made a solid salary: $25 million per year for two years with $4.5 million in incentive-based bonuses each year. Aside from his contract, Brady had very few demands before and after the negotiations. After signing his deal, he had just one request. Here’s what The Times reported:
Brady never asked for control of the offense. He knew that Arians, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen and special assistant Tom Moore would collaborate with him on game plans. He didn’t ask for any specific players to join him. He didn’t even ask to wear No. 12, which for the moment belongs to Godwin.
In fact, there was only one request Brady had after he had signed: He wanted the phone numbers of all his new Bucs teammates.
Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Brady cares deeply about his teammates.
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