Jason Licht has been the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2014. He orchestrated the signing of Tom Brady, the legendary quarterback who led the franchise to its second-ever Super Bowl win.
Licht shared some details about the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s arrival in Tampa Bay in a recent interview.
Tom Brady’s Signing With the Buccaneers Through Jason Licht’s Eyes
Both of Licht’s Super Bowl victories as an executive came with Brady on his side. He was the New England Patriots’ scout when Brady got the better of the St. Louis Rams. The three-time NFL MVP went on to win five more Vince Lombardi trophies with the Patriots.
However, Licht had stints with the Eagles, the Cardinals, and the Patriots before taking on the role of general manager in Tampa Bay. Brady announced that he wouldn’t re-sign with the Patriots in March 2020 and landed on the Buccaneers roster.
During an episode of the “Sports Day Tampa Bay Podcast with Rick Stroud,” Licht opened up about the behind-the-scenes of the historic deal. The host asked Licht if there was an Eureka moment where he felt that the Bucs would certainly manage to sign Brady.
“It just started becoming clearer and clearer through that,” Licht said. “Now, you can’t talk to them, and you really can’t talk to the agent. But you’re getting signs and you’re hearing reports in the media that the Bucs are really a probable destination, and you know that that’s coming from them.”
Licht also said that the management asked him not to name any quarterback when he was sitting for the interviews at the NFL Combine. But when a reporter asked if he would pick up the phone for any available quarterback, Licht said, “Yeah, Tom Brady.”
“There were a lot of ‘this may happen’ moments. But until the final call, when Tom called me and I was over at Bruce’s house, when he was able to call me, that was a moment I’ll never forget,” Licht recalled.
“I was on the phone with him for a few minutes, but then I said, ‘I want you to talk to your head coach.’ Then they were on the phone for an hour or whatever, and then Chris, Bruce, and I went immediately to 717 to celebrate.”
In his first season with the Bucs, TB12 led the franchise to an 11-5 record and their first postseason since the 2007-08 season.
Brady powered the Buccaneers to Super Bowl victory with three passing touchdowns and zero interceptions en route to the fifth Super Bowl MVP award of his legendary career. He also won two division titles and finished second in MVP voting in his penultimate season.
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