A few weeks ago, the greatest and most successful NFL quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, announced that he would be retiring from the game after a career that saw him win an unprecedented seven Super Bowl rings (more than any franchise, let alone any other player).
The news left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for whom Brady had signed from the New England Patriots two years ago, mulling what to do about replacing the irreplaceable Brady.
With so many veteran players out of contract, and Brady now retired, it looked like Tampa’s experiment to win the Super Bowl using proven players over the shorter term, had successfully run its course.
So much so that going from one of the favourites to win the Super Bowl last season, the Buccaneers odds on Super Bowl success had drifted right out to around 25/1 with most bookmakers such as Bet365 Sport.
However, this past weekend, that all changed completely when Tom Brady announced that after just 40 days of retirement, he had reconsidered his decision and would indeed be coming back for a third season as a Buccaneer.
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Discussion With Cristiano Ronaldo
Perhaps somewhat oddly, Brady’s decision seems to have been pre-empted by one of his Instagram posts over the weekend.
Brady was in Manchester, England watching Manchester United play Tottenham and after the game, he was chatting with Cristiano Ronaldo when Ronaldo asked him if he was “done” as a player.
Rather than confirming that, Brady mumbled an unintelligible reply and people began to wonder.
There had already been some speculation in the United States that something was happening in Tampa Bay. One Las Vegas-based Sportsbook took a number of high value bets on the Buccaneers to win the Super Bowl out of the blue last week.
The sportsbook correctly assumed that maybe the Buccaneers had resolved their quarterback problem. What they assumed incorrectly was that would be DeShaun Watson of the Houston Texans coming in.
Instead, what they got was a social media post from Brady that stated:
“These past two months, I’ve realised my place is still on the field and not in the stands,” said Brady in the post.
“That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my team-mates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business.”
So when the news broke this past weekend that rather than Watson, it was Tom Brady who was coming back, the betting markets for a number of popular NFL futures bets went crazy.
Odds Tumble As Brady News Breaks
It seems incredible that the decision of just one player on a team that can have over 50 players on its roster could have such a massive impact on the perception of how strong that team is.
However, that is the effect that Tom Brady has on franchises. Since joining the Bucs he won the Super Bowl in his first season and then reached the Playoffs in the next, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the Los Angeles Rams this year.
Not only that, Brady was the top rated quarterback in the NFL in the past season in a number of key areas. He led the NFL in yards passing (5,316), touchdowns (43), completions (485) and passing attempts (719).
Not only that but the 44-year-old is now setting new benchmarks that will likely never be bettered in the NFL:
Tom Brady’s NFL Records:
- Most Super Bowl Wins Of Any Player OR Franchise – 7
- Most Super Bowl MVP Awards – 5
- Most Career Quarterback Wins – 243
- Most Career Passing Attempts – 11,317
- Most Career Passing Completions – 7.263
- Most Career Passing Touchdowns – 624
- Most Career Passing Yards – 84,520
- Most Pass Completions In A Season – 485 (in 2021)
- Longest Touchdown Pass – 99 yards (tied)
- 15 Pro Bowl Selections
He is the oldest NFL MVP (aged 40), the oldest starter, MVP and winner of a Super Bowl (at age 43), the oldest quarterback selected to the Pro Bowl (aged 44) and he is the only player to ever appear in two All Decade teams (and he could possibly be selected in a third for the 2020s).
He is also the only quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl in three separate decades.
He has also never had a losing season as a player.
It is that kind of quality that has been the impetus behind so many punters deciding to back the Buccaneers to go very well once again.
What Are The Odds On The Buccaneers And Brady Now?
With bet365 Sport, Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now 9/1 to win the Super Bowl, which is a much shorter price than you could have got on them this time last week. However, they are still rankled behind the Buffalo Bills (15/2) and Kansas City Chiefs (8/1) with bet365 in this market.
To win the NFC Conference, the Bucs have now become the joint favourites to win the title alongside the Green Bay Packers at 17/4, with this year’s Super Bowl Champions the Los Angeles Rams a 21/4 shot.
However, if you want to back the Buccaneers to win their division, the NFC South, then they are 4/9 to win the division. That is partly down to Tom Brady coming back but also because their main opponents in that division are all very much going through a period of transition.
The Saints are in a brand new era with a new headcoach and quarterback combination still to be decided in Free Agency and the draft, the Falcons are very much in a rebuild and the Panthers were arguably the worst team in the NFL over the last 15 weeks of the season after a 3-0 start.
So it’s not surprising that the odds on the Bucs have shortened and so have the odds on Tom Brady being named the NFL MVP once again, with the now un-retired quarterback legend rated a 9/1 chance behind the trio of favourites Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen, who are all 8/1.
We’ve already had some huge ups and downs this season and it is only March and the season does not officially begin until 4pm tomorrow EST!
Brady has one more year left on his Buccaneers contract so steel yourself for a similar story to break in the next post season period too!
