On the day Tom Brady announced his breakup with the New England Patriots, the 20-year veteran is set to be the next quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Multiple reporters, including NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, have stated that when the NFL Free Agency period officially begins on Wednesday and players can ink new contracts, Brady will be doing so with the Buccaneers and will be getting paid quite handsomely.
He is set to earn approximately $30 million per year with his new deal in Tampa Bay. This will be just his second team in the league after spending his first 20 years in New England. While there, he led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, which is why many fans were frustrated after seeing him walk away. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have won just one championship in their team history in 2003.
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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
Brady revealed that he would not be returning to the Patriots early on Tuesday morning. Shortly after, Colin Cowhered of Fox Sports was the first to suggest the Buccaneers had something in the works for him.
The head coach of the Patriots, Bill Belichick, has been the one and only to coach Brady in his NFL career. He put out a statement along with the team’s owner, Robert Kraft, after Brady made his announcement.
“Tom and I will always have a great relationship built on love, admiration, respect and appreciation,” he explained. “Tom’s success as a player and his character as a person are exceptional. Nothing about the end of Tom’s Patriots career changes how unfathomably spectacular it was. With his relentless competitiveness and longevity, he earned everyone’s adoration and will be celebrated forever. It has been a privilege to coach Tom Brady for 20 years.”
With the Buccaneers, Brady will join a team that’s led by head coach Bruce Arians, who was with the Arizona Cardinals from 2013 to 2017 before taking over Tampa Bay last season. He was a two-time Coach of the Year with Arizona.
Brady will also team up with a pair of high-end wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The two have a combined four Pro Bowls in their career with both players finishing in the top 10 for receiving touchdowns in 2019.
