Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans never made it to the playoffs in his first six years in the NFL. But all that changed with the arrival of Tom Brady, who signed a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Buccaneers in the offseason. Brady led the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl trophy with a masterful 31-9 triumph over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. During his post-game press conference, Evans said Brady’s arrival changed the Buccaneers’ culture and helped them develop a winning mentality.

“Obviously we got better as the year went on, but man, Tom’s the GOAT for a reason. He played great all year,” said Evans, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “We needed him to do that and we got the goal that we were aiming for,” he added. Evans stressed that the arrival of Brady has made the difference for the team this season as he turned around a franchise that finished 7-9 last season and previously made the playoffs way back in 2007. “It was instant. If you add Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, that’s going to do it itself,” the wide receiver stressed.

Fournette blessed to play with Brady

Running back Leonard Fournette, for his part, echoed Evans’ sentiment, saying he’s blessed to have played with Brady “I’m just blessed to be next to this man.

You know he’s the greatest football player ever played and I can tell my kid I play with that man,” said Fournette during his post-game press conference as transcribed from the YouTube video of his interview. Fournette ran the ball 16 times for 89 yards and a score and provided Brady with another target by catching four of his passes for 46 yards.

Patriots fans tuned in to Brady

Based on the Super Bowl TV rating, plenty of New England Patriots fans tuned in to watch Brady win his seventh Super Bowl ring and his first outside of Boston. According to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily, the TV rating in Boston surpassed the TV rating in Tampa. Ourand reported that Super Bowl LV generated a rating of 57.6 in Boston while only 52.3 in Tampa.

Per Mike Florio of NBC Sports, the 57.6 rating in Boston even surpassed all but one of the Patriots’ Super Bowl appearances. Next season, Brady is expected to make his anticipated return to New England when he leads the Buccaneers against his former team in the 2021 regular season.

Brady apologizes to Mathieu

Brady and Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu had several verbal altercations during their Sunday’s clash. At one point, Brady was seen chasing Mathieu and got in his face. But according to Jenna Laine of ESPN, Brady apologized to Mathieu after the game via text message, saying he lost his composure in the heat of the moment. Laine said Brady is planning to personally apologize to Mathieu soon.
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