Buccaneers: Tom Brady shows recipe for winning with new extension

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers are on track to maintain their dominance.

The GOAT discussion is an interesting one, especially when it comes to Tom Brady. In other sports, you’re generally comparing players of similar athleticism. MJ and LeBron have almost always been the most athletically-talented players in basketball in route to their greatness, but no one would say the same about Brady with the Buccaneers.

Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time and likely the greatest football player of all time, but he is far from the most athletic. Despite this, Brady makes up for his deficiency in other areas. As a competitor, leader, and one of the greatest athletes of all time under pressure, Brady has built a legacy of greatness, one that shows well into his 40s.

The recipe for Brady’s success is simple. Success has never been based around athleticism at the quarterback position in the NFL; otherwise, the Packers, Ravens, and Chiefs would always win the Super Bowl. Does it help? Absolutely. Those teams are perennial playoff contenders now. But athleticism isn’t everything. Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the NFL learned that recently. Instead of focusing on athleticism, Brady has built his career around selflessness, and the rings prove that it works.

Tom Brady continues to set himself apart with the Buccaneers

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Why did the Patriots dynasty last so long? It was mainly because Brady played below market value for almost his entire duration in New England. Even when Brady played at an MVP level, the Patriots were never scrambling to make him the highest-paid quarterback in football.

Looking around the NFL, the teams with their quarterbacks under massive deals are in rough situations, even when the talent is better than Brady.

The Seahawks and the Texans have two of the best quarterbacks in the league under massive contracts, yet neither knows who will start for them under center in the fall. Watson has outright requested a trade, while Wilson has already given a list of teams that he would accept a trade to. Neither are long for their current homes.

Is this what teams get when they invest a mountain of money in a quarterback? This type of fallout is to be expected from a running back, but your main leader always has to be happy if you want to win. Wilson and Watson aren’t selfish players nor are their demands unrealistic, they were merely mentioned to show that spending a ton of money at quarterback does not guarantee that the quarterback will stay happy.

Even the Chiefs, who seem set with Mahomes under center for the next decade, just had to cut their two starting offensive tackles to keep up with the cap space. We all saw a glimpse of that future in the Super Bowl; let us know how that works out.

Brady is the exact opposite of the average. Even after winning the Super Bowl and playing at a top-10 level at 43, Brady restructured his deal to save the Buccaneers even more money next year with an extension. Now, the Bucs have their quarterback locked up, but they have the money available to keep him protected and with ample weapons going forward.

Had Brady’s attitude been different during his career, we may not be having this conversation today, but his desire to win outweighing his desire to be the highest-paid player in the league has been what sets him apart during his career.

It’s simple, if other teams want to win like Brady has during his career, their quarterbacks need to take a page out of his book and stop putting stock in pay status.

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