NFL Super Bowl odds update: Tampa Bay Buccaneers backed for glory after Tom Brady signs on

By Paul Higham

11:05 · WED March 25, 2020

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been backed into 16/1 to win the Super Bowl in their own stadium after completing their blockbuster move for living legend Tom Brady.

The man known as ‘The GOAT’ decided to move to Florida after ending his 20-year stint with the New England Patriots, which yielded six Super Bowl titles during an incredible spell of dominance under Brady and head coach Bill Belichick.

Brady may be 42, but he is still being backed to once again lead a side to the big game with the Buccaneers being general 50/1 shots previously, before being cut dramatically in the Super Bowl winners market after picking up the living legend in free agency.

Super Bowl winner odds

6/1 - Chiefs
7/1 - Ravens | 49ers
11/1 - Saints
16/1 - Packers | Buccaneers | Patriots | Cowboys

Click here for the full market

Just rumours of Brady signing for Tampa Bay sent locals into a frenzy, and once confirmed many of them were no doubt part of the hordes of punters backing the Buccaneers to produce a remarkable turnaround and win the Super Bowl next season.

The Kansas City Chiefs remain favourites to defend their crown behind the new face of the NFL in quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes led the Chiefs to an epic comeback to blitz the San Francisco 49ers and win Super Bowl LIV in Miami in February (which again deserves a mention after we picked KC to win it all in pre-season!) and on the face of things there’s no reason why they couldn’t go deep again.

The Chiefs, in fact, should probably have made the Super Bowl in February 2019 as they lost out to Brady’s Patriots by just one stray Dee Ford hand causing a late penalty against them to rule out what would have been a game-winning interception of the New England quarterback.

Count 'em! SIX rings! 💍💍💍💍💍💍

Tom Brady's best throws from #SBLIII! pic.twitter.com/VE4rfX0F7P
— NFL (@NFL) February 4, 2019

Instead, Brady and the Pats went on to smother the LA Rams and claim a sixth Lombardi Trophy and carve another chapter into his NFL legacy.

February’s beaten Super Bowl side, San Francisco, should have enough to go close again but their QB Jimmy Garoppolo, who used to be Brady’s back-up at New England before growing tired of sitting on the bench, has yet to answer questions over whether he can truly be an elite triggerman in this league.

The Baltimore Ravens had league MVP Lamar Jackson producing historic numbers last season before they suffered a huge play-off upset against the Tennessee Titans, but if they’ve learnt their lesson then they again will be a tough outfit to beat.

While the Bucs have been backed, the departure of Brady has left the Patriots relatively friendless in the market and they find themselves as around 16/1 outsiders – you won’t have found them as big as that many times with Brady under centre.

There’s not too much confidence veteran back-up Brian Hoyer or second year man Jarrett Stidham can produce anything like Brady’s production – but head coach Bill Belichick will be extra focused this year as, make no mistake, he’ll be out to prove he can win without Brady at quarterback.

Can Brady make more history?

So, does Brady have a chance to win a seventh Super Bowl and conquer the NFL with a second different team? Well, on the face of it Tampa Bay’s recent record does not give you much hope as they hold the second-longest play-off drought in the NFL, behind only the hapless Cleveland Browns.

The Bucs have had just two winning seasons in the last decade and only two teams had fewer fans come to see them play last season – Brady’s signature has already positively impacted the latter with online season tickets flying off the virtual shelves, and he’ll be determined to turn around the on-field issues himself come September.

Pick 199. 6 Rings. 3 MVPs. 20 seasons of greatness.

The end of an era in New England. 🐐 @TomBrady pic.twitter.com/ptWa7bQfIR
— NFL (@NFL) March 20, 2020

And there are certainly upsides to life at Tampa for Brady beyond just remaining on the East Coast, with the Buccaneers having a top-five offence under error-strewn Jameis Winston last season, giving Brady plenty of ammunition going forward.

Brady has had to deal with low-grade wide receivers and tight ends throughout his career, with the likes of Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman coming few and far between as Brady regularly elevated ordinary skill position players.

Now he has Pro Bowlers receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, one of the best and most dominant duos in the league who both went over 1,100 yards last year despite not playing full seasons.

And the history Brady is chasing? No team has played in a Super Bowl in their own stadium, let alone won one, and the Super Bowl next February just so happens to be in Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium.

That would be so Brady to show up to his own party!

NFL Super Bowl odds update: Tampa Bay Buccaneers backed for glory after Tom Brady signs on

Super Bowl winner odds

Can Brady make more history?

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