Tom Brady always elevated everyone around him, not only in New England but also in Tampa Bay. The GOAT simply held his teammates to a standard, which he embodied, and that standard was hard work and toughness. Years later, one of Brady’s former GMs says that watching him in his later years was a treat, so much so that he couldn’t resist comparing Brady to perhaps the greatest baseball player of all time.
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Jason Licht has been the GM of the Buccaneers since 2014. When Brady became available in 2020, he jumped at the opportunity and signed him to a two-year contract worth $30 million. It paid off immediately, as the Bucs won the Super Bowl in what will be remembered as the COVID season.
Licht talked about that magical year during his recent appearance on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast. He reflected on his success with the team over the years, and when the topic of Brady came up, the interviewer asked if he had scouted him beforehand in the 2000 NFL Draft. Licht came clean and said absolutely not. However, one of his staffers did have the Michigan QB ranked higher than others.
After winning Super Bowl XXXVI with Brady in Foxborough, Licht reunited with the QB nearly two decades later. And in those years, Brady hadn’t changed one bit — only improved, and in the best of ways. Licht recalled that it was like watching Babe Ruth in his later years in MLB.
“It was kind of like watching Babe Ruth in his final years, you know? I mean, the legend. And I didn’t know how long he was going to be there, so I didn’t want to let him down. I wanted to put as many, attempt to, put the best team around him as possible. Didn’t want to let him down,” Licht said.
It’s the type of response that most NFL fans hope their GM would say as well. Licht felt like it would’ve been a disservice to Brady if he didn’t supply him with the best team, so he did exactly that. Other GMs should take notes.
Licht says that even years after his retirement, the Tampa Bay community is still thriving because of Brady’s presence years ago.
“I mean, he elevated everybody. And we’re still feeling the ripple effects. We still talk about how it hasn’t been that long… This didn’t happen by accident,” Licht shared.
It makes sense, given that Brady brought a Super Bowl to the franchise promptly after signing. He didn’t exactly go out on the highest note, getting bounced by Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. However, his immediate success was already enough to put him up there with the franchise greats.
Licht also mentioned that Brady worked a lot harder in the weight room and during off-weeks than people may have thought. In fact, rookies still ask him what having Tom in the organization was like, to which he says it was unlike anything you could ever imagine.
It’s legendary stories like this that make us believe Brady is truly the GOAT when it comes to football. The accolades are hard to argue with: seven Super Bowls, five Super Bowl MVPs, and three regular-season MVPs. It’s a resume we might never see again, just like how Babe Ruth did things for the game of baseball that we still haven’t seen over 100 years later.
