Everyone connected with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers now aims to be simply the best.
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht revealed the scale of Tom Brady’s impact on the organization Friday during his appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio. Brady prompted celebrations in Tampa Bay when he joined the team in late March, and his arrival only has heightened excitement about the team’s prospects.
Having worked with the New England Patriots, Brady’s former team, as a player-personnel executive in separate stints in 2002 and between 2009 and 2011, Licht is well-aware of how the legendary quarterback can galvanize an organization on and off the field.
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“It’s (an) incredible effect on the entire organization and team that goes beyond the players, too,” Licht said. “And as far as the team, they’re gonna know what the standard is now, and he’s going to bring the best out of everybody.
“You don’t realize it until you leave — I left New England — and you go to other organizations. I went to some great organizations, went to the Super Bowl with some other organizations, but it’s still not the same as being around Tom Brady. Just the effect that he has on everybody, bringing the best out of everybody.
“But not only players, it goes for coaches, it goes for coaches, it for front office, it goes for the business side. I mean, he’s just … everybody has to have their A game at all times.”
"I left New England…I went to some great organizations, went to the Super Bowl with some other organizations, but it's still not the same as being around Tom Brady"
– Bucs GM Jason Licht
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— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) April 3, 2020
Although Brady hasn’t started working with his teammates in an organized manner, he reportedly has sparked various players’ interest in joining Tampa Bay, giving Licht and his staff a newfound recruiting advantage.
Buccaneers fans also are buying season tickets and No. 12 jerseys from the team store in bunches, proving Licht’s assertion about Brady’s impact isn’t merely wishful thinking but actually is much closer to reality.
