Moments after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their second Vince Lombardi trophy following a 31-9 rout of the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium, veteran quarterback Tom Brady that he’s coming back for a second season with his new team. After receiving the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy for the fifth time in his career, Brady said, “We're coming back. You already know that!” when asked about his future after winning his 7th Super Bowl ring in his 21-year NFL career, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.
The 43-year-Brady completed 21 of 29 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 125.8, his highest in his ten career Super Bowl appearances. Earlier, Jeff Darlington of ESPN reported that Brady might play out the two-year deal worth $50 million that he signed with the Buccaneers in the offseason.
Brady became the first quarterback to win two titles after 40 and joined Peyton Manning as the only signal-caller to win Super Bowl titles for two different franchises. However, Brady is the first quarterback to accomplish it in two different conferences after joining the NFC. With the win, Brady now has more Super Bowl titles than all of the NFL teams, including the New England Patriots, where he won six Lombardi trophies in his two-decade stay with the team.
The Buccaneers, for their part, became the first team in NFL history to win the Lombardi trophy at home.
Three players recruited by Brady also shone for the Buccaneers
The three players lured by Brady to the Buccaneers – tight end Rob Gronkowski, wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Leonard Fournette – also stepped up big time for the Buccaneers.
Gronkowski caught six passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns as he won his fourth Super Bowl ring with Brady as his quarterback. The duo also made history after they connected for their 13th touchdown pass in the first period, breaking a tie with Jerry Rice and Joe Montana for most touchdown connections by a duo in the playoffs.
Brown, for his part, caught Brady’s third touchdown pass while Fournette ran the ball 16 times for 89 yards and a score and caught four passes for 46 yards. "It was just great to see big-time players making big-time plays," said Brady, adding that he loved what they brought to the team, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.
Arians, Gronkowski to also return
Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to join Brady in Tampa, said he would remain unretired as he loves being around with his teammates, coaches, and front office personnel. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said he would come back for another year and try to get another ring. Brown, for his part, said that he would love to be back here next year. “It would mean everything to be back," Brown said. Arians is hoping that general manager Jason Licht would keep most of the players and try to repeat next season.
