UPDATED 3/20, 9:15 a.m. ET: Tom Brady has officially announced his signing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sharing the news on Instagram, Brady said he is "excited, humble, and hungry." He continued, "If there's one thing I have learned about football, it's that nobody cares what you did last year or the year before that... 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."
See original story below.
Tom Brady will reportedly sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa is the expected landing spot for Tom Brady barring anything unforeseen, sources tell me and @JeffDarlington.
There's no signing date or announcement officially set up, but Brady is expected to be a Buccaneer.
Brady shocked the sports world Tuesday, when he announced that he would not be returning to the New England Patriots. Now, it looks like the six-time Super Bowl champion has decided to continue his illustrious career elsewhere.
Shortly after Brady's original announcement, FS1's Colin Cowherd said he received a text claiming that Brady had made his decision. He later reported that Brady chose the Bucs.
"I was told 35 minutes ago that Tom Brady signs tomorrow with Tampa Bay," Cowherd said on his Tuesday show. "He had made a decision and talked to Tampa Bay yesterday. He was willing to re-sign with New England but he watched Stefon Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins go to other franchises and then called Robert Kraft an hour and a half later and says ‘I’M OUT’… I am told Tampa is the choice and he will sign tomorrow."
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport backed up that assertion with a report that a deal had been reached, in principle. That will be apparently be worth about $30 million per year when it becomes official:
Adam Schefter also linked Brady and the Bucs, and he hopped on SportsCenter with Jeff Darlington, who had previously reported Tom was on his way out of New England earlier in the offseason:
It's hard to overstate just how much Brady meant to the Pats and their fans. Brady spent 20 seasons with the team, leading them to 16 AFC East titles, 30 playoff wins, 13 conference championship games, nine Super Bowls, and six titles. Brady also won four Super Bowl MVPs, made 14 Pro-Bowl appearances, and earned three MVP awards. In fact, in 2011, he became the first player to win the NFL MVP by unanimous decision—a feat that wasn't duplicated until Lamar Jackson won the award last season.
This post will be updated.
