Tom Brady long has said his favorite Super Bowl championship is "the next one."
As such, it should come as no surprise just how quickly Brady shifted his focus to a new challenge after climbing the NFL's mountaintop for the seventh time in his unparalleled career.
Brady was unable to catch up with Clyde Christensen after Super Bowl LV, so he texted the Buccaneers quarterbacks coach the morning after Tampa Bay's win over the Kansas City Chiefs to show appreciation. The future Hall of Fame QB also expressed excitement for the 2021 season.
"He said, 'Hey, I didn't see you after the game. I just wanted to tell you thanks and what a great journey and how much I appreciated everything you did,' " Christensen told the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud. "The second thing he said: 'I was just sitting here thinking, and I think we can really be better next year. I think we're going to be a better team.' He was already excited about the next year. It's amazing. That's how his mind works."
Christensen continued: "He's thinking about it the next morning. He's barely been in a couple hours, and he's thinking about it the next morning. The thing that happens is, teams get distracted. Everyone is trying to make a little more money. Everyone has something going. Some have got a little book deal. They've got radio shows going. That doesn't happen to the Bradys or the Mannings of the world. They don't get distracted. They don't get off track."
The Bucs should enter the 2021 campaign as one of the favorites to reach Super Bowl LVI, so long as they're able to retain the majority of their key players who are set to hit free agency in two weeks.
Brady reworking his contract through an extension could help the franchise achieve this mission, and history suggests the 43-year-old would be open to doing that.
