"Florida's great, it’s warm, no state taxes" - How Bruce Arians convinced Tom Brady to sign with the Buccaneers
When it became clear that Tom Brady wanted to get out of the New England Patriots, the other 31 teams paid attention. Some more than others, of course, but all 31 teams at least smelled an opportunity in the air and quietly waited, like a hunter searching for its prey.
Of all the calls Don Yee, Brady's long-time agent, received, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers interested the quarterback the most.
According to sports journalist Lars Anderson in his new book A Season in the Sun: Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Inside Story of the Making of a Champion, Yee told Bucs general manager Jason Licht that Brady both respected and admired Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians.
Relive the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl year. From the arrival of Tom Brady to the relationship between quarterback and head coach Bruce Arians, and so much more. Even some insight into that famous Super Bowl speech.
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The respect and admiration came after Brady did a little digging into Arians' career. The quarterback read Arians' book The Quarterback Whisperer: How to Build an Elite NFL Quarterback and watched a documentary about the veteran coach.
But that is only half the story.
Bruce Arians' selling pitch to Brady
When Arians and Brady spoke for the first time in the 2020 NFL Offseason, Yee told Licht about Brady's admiration. Naturally, the general manager told the head coach about the quarterback's feelings towards him. But was that enough to convince Brady to sign with the Bucs?
Well, Arians would not pay to see. So when Arians and Brady talked on the phone for the first time, the head coach started to emphasize all the differences between Tampa Bay and Boston and all distinctions between the Buccaneers and the Patriots.
"Hey, Florida's great; it's warm, no state taxes. And we do have receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, all these guys."
Soon, they would also add tight end Rob Gronkowski at Brady's request.
But Evans and Godwin were excellent selling points. Brady was coming off a season where aside from Julian Edelman, he had wide receivers Phillip Dorsett, N'Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers; and tight ends Ryan Izzo, Matt LaCosse and Benjamin Watson.
In short, aside from Edelman, Brady did not have anybody else reliable enough. So the mention of Evans and Godwin unquestionably caused Brady's eyes to shine.
But Arians wanted Brady, which made him go forward and promise what Brady wants the most: to win.
“After about 45 minutes, Licht handed the phone to Arians. The coach stated his view that they had a Super Bowl team. They needed someone to help them believe. You come, Arians told Brady, and we will win the Super Bowl.”
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"If you come here, we will win the Super Bowl. You're the missing ingredient. We're a very talented team, but they just don't know it."
Brady wanted the Bucs' talent, and he also wanted to work with Arians; the head coach's words undoubtedly were just a formality that was necessary to break the ice.