Trending

Tom Brady officially signs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, quarterback Tom Brady has opted for a change of scenery signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Update 9:15 a.m. EDT March 20: Tom Brady meet Bucco Bruce. The prolific Patriots passer is officially a Buccaneer, Tampa Bay said Thursday on social media.

“I’ve known Tom since we drafted him in New England 20 years ago and through this process it became very clear that his desire to be a champion burns as strong today as it ever has," Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht said in a statement. “He possesses the type of rare natural leadership qualities that will immediately impact our entire organization.”

The terms of the deal were not disclosed but are believed to be around $60 million, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

“Excited, humble and hungry ... . If there is one thing I have learned about football, it’s that nobody cares what you did last year or the year before that,” Brady wrote on social media. “You earn the trust and respect of those around through your commitment every single day. I’m starting a new football journey and thankful for the Buccaneers for giving me an opportunity to do what I love to do.”

Update 7:50 p.m. EDT March 17: Tom Brady will reportedly take his talents to Tampa Bay as he is expected to sign a contract with the Buccaneers after NFL free agency officially begins on Wednesday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Brady announced on Tuesday morning that he would not be returning to the New England Patriots after two decades with the organization. The quarterback’s reported new deal will have a yearly salary of around $30 million.

It has not been reported how many years the deal is expected to include. Further details such as total money and guaranteed money were also not included in Rapoport’s report.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington also reported the story on Tuesday evening.

Original Story: After 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, quarterback Tom Brady has opted for a change of scenery, tweeting Tuesday morning that his “football journey will take place elsewhere.”

>> Photos: Tom Brady’s life in 12 photos

Brady’s last contract with the Patriots voided at the beginning of the NFL’s legal tampering period, which began on Monday at noon. And while New England had a nearly two-month headstart on other teams to sign Brady, the soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback has decided to take his talents elsewhere.

Speculation has swirled for months if the 2019 season would be Brady’s last with the Patriots. And following a 12-4 season where the team won another AFC East title but were eliminated in the Wild Card Round for the first time in more than a decade, Brady’s career with New England has indeed come to a close.

Despite the disappointing end to the 2019 campaign, Brady’s tenure in New England has been unmatched by any player in the 100-year history of the National Football League.

In the time since his arrival in Foxborough, Brady-led squads have missed the postseason just one time, in 2002. All 17 times the Patriots have qualified for the playoffs since Brady’s arrival in New England, they have done so as the AFC East champions, including in each of the last 11 seasons – an NFL record.

Brady and the Patriots have racked up a seemingly unquantifiable amount of NFL records during the last two decades in Foxborough. Starting at the top, his six Super Bowl titles are the most by any player in league history, while the Patriots as a team are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history (six).

On top of that, Brady has racked up more Super Bowl MVPs (4), division titles (17), playoff wins (30), playoff starts (41), regular-season wins (219) and Super Bowl appearances (9) than any other player in NFL history.