Tom Brady was signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2020 for two years on a $50 million contract, and has managed to turn their record from 7-9 last season to 11-5 this season. 

As quarterback, he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a superbowl championship this year. This comes after an upset win over the Green Bay Packers on January 24th, with an original 37% chance of victory as calculated by FiveThirtyEight, a website that uses statistical analysis to give broader topic coverage. 

Brady will be the fourth quarterback to lead two separate franchises to the Super Bowl, the Bucs being the fourth wild-card team since 1990 to go to the Super Bowl (all of the others won). Despite his older age of 43 in comparison to his first Super Bowl at 26, Brady still managed to perform spectacularly, completing 20 out of 36 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns.

Patriots fans have responded to the transfer in a mixed bag, with some happy for him and others irritated. The side happy with his decision compares themselves to the Indianapolis Colts’ reaction to Peyton Manning’s departure in 2019, claiming that independently Brady is a spectacular player and that he was strategic in picking the Bucs over leading the Jets in the AFC Championship. Other supporters believe it’s just good that he continues to play at his age, and that his full potential is now visible with Tampa Bay’s arguably superior receivers as a next step in his career. 

Alternatively, some are irritated that Patriots coach Bill Belichick, rather than renewing Brady’s contract for another year, allowed him to leave the team. The topic of how much the Patriots needed Brady to begin with has been brought to light by Patriots fans, with the Patriots finishing 7-9 in the 2020-21 season despite their notoriously exceptional defense. 

Overall, some Patriots fans supported the Bucs in the 2021 Super Bowl because of Brady, but others were mad at his decision to leave a team that had treated him so well. 

Despite the team’s underdog status and some Patriots fans’ dismay, the people in Tampa are jubilant to finally have a more capable quarterback and a team that is a force to be reckoned with.