The assumption in free agency was that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a pursuit for Tom Brady. But in fact, it was the other way around. While the Buccaneers were interested, Brady reportedly pitched himself to Tampa Bay, according to Jason Licht — the GM of the Buccaneers.

“We had a great conversation — Bruce and I — we talked to him for over an hour and a half. And he made it clear in the conversation that he was very, very interested,” Licht said via ESPN. “It was almost like a recruitment on his part, telling us why it would make sense for him to come to Tampa Bay. The next call we made, we signed him, but it was at that phone call that we realized, that we felt like we had him.”

Since the beginning of the offseason, Brady was always the No. 1 option for the Buccaneers. However, Tampa Bay never had the feeling that they would have a legitimate chance to land the greatest quarterback of all time.

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Adam Copeland is wearing a Tom Brady Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey next to Tom Brady with the AEW logo as the background.

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Former Indianapolis Colts star Dwight Freeney and Tom Brady in front of Lucas Oil Stadium.

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But when Brady announced that he was officially leaving the New England Patriots, the 42-year-old quarterback turned his attention to the Buccaneers. With Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Bruce Arians calling the shots, Brady saw Tampa Bay as an intriguing landing spot.

Therefore, he made the call to the Buccaneers and explained why he'd be a perfect fit for them at quarterback. The rest is history. Licht and Tampa Bay would ink a two-year, $50 million deal with Brady in free agency. Even though Brady listed plenty of reasons for the Buccaneers to sign him, it seems that he had them at hello.