For the 10th time in his Hall of Fame-bound career, quarterback Tom Brady will compete for the Super Bowl after carrying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-26 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Brady completed 20 of 36 passes for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns with three interceptions to lead the Buccaneers to their first NFC title and a Super Bowl appearance since 2002 in his first year in Tampa Bay after 20 years with the New England Patriots, where he played in nine games for the Lombardi Trophy. At 43, Brady is set to become the oldest player at any position to play in the Super Bowl.
The Buccaneers, for their part, are the first team to play in a Super Bowl in their home field where they take on the winner of the AFC Championship clash between the Buffalo Bills and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7, per Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston. With the win, Bruce Arians will appear in his first Super Bowl as head coach. He previously won his two championship rings as assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “This has been the most rewarding year of coaching in my life," said Arians during his post-game press conference. The veteran head coach admitted that there were times that he thought a Super Bowl trip as a head coach would never happen for him.
Brady’s family rejoices after win
After the win, Brady shared a touching moment with his son Jack, his son with actress Bridget Moynahan. The veteran quarterback immediately found Jack, climbed up onto the bleachers and hugged him, telling him, “I love you”, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.
Tom Brady climbs up onto the bleachers to share a tender moment with his son Jack immediately following the Bucs’ win over Green Bay, telling him, “I love you.” pic.twitter.com/bUx76Yom0c
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) January 24, 2021
As expected, Brady’s wife Gisele Bundchen expressed her excitement on social media following his husband’s win.
On her Twitter account, Gisele posted “Yeeeeeah Super Bowl here we come !!!!!!” with five fist bump emojis and two heart-shaped eyes emojis. Gisele also posted a Brady’s photo on her Instagram story with the caption “we love and are so proud of you, papai!!!”
Yeeeeeah Super Bowl here we come!!!!!! 👊👊👊👊👊😍😍
— Gisele Bündchen (@giseleofficial) January 24, 2021
Brady earns another $500K
With his win over the Packers, Brady earned another $500,000 as incentive for bringing the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl, per Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated.
He already earned around $1.25 million in incentives for his postseason success with the Buccaneers. Brady reportedly earned $500,000 for leading the Buccaneers to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. He added another $250,000 after carrying the Buccaneers to a 31-23 win over the Washington Football Team in the Wild Card Game and another $500,000 for their 30-20 win over the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round. If Brady leads the Buccaneers to the Lombardi crown, he will make another $500,000. In the offseason, Brady signed a two-year contract with the Buccaneers, worth $50 million, with another $9 million in performance incentives.