John Steigerwald: What to make of Tom Brady's motivation, legacy, expectations?

Imagine Mario Lemieux coming out of retirement to play for the Florida Panthers in 2000 instead of the Penguins.

Tom Brady did the equivalent of that when he decided to leave the New England Patriots last week and sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There was a time when staying with the same team meant something to an all-time great player, but it doesn’t seem to mean much anymore.

Sports talk radio hosts and hot take panelists love to have serious, in-depth discussions about how certain decisions or events will affect a player’s legacy.

Radio hosts and hot take panelists care about legacy a lot more than players and coaches do.

So what was Brady’s motivation? Money? He’s worth an estimated $100 million, and his wife is worth an estimated $400 million. I think that’s a half a billion dollars.

The $50 million guaranteed he will get for two years from the Bucs will have no noticeable affect on his lifestyle or life.

Maybe it was to prove his coach Bill Belichick wrong.

There are reports Brady has been upset with Belichick since he tried to trade him to the 49ers in 2017 and make his backup, Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots’ starter.

There’s a chance Belichick has never been as impressed by Brady as most of the media have. He had to recognize his greatness and his value, but he has never fallen all over himself to declare Brady the greatest quarterback in NFL history.

Brady also has said he feels a lot of his success is a result of being part of a great system.

Belichick also remembers that season without Brady when he went 11-5 with Matt Cassell, who had never started a game in college.

So what are the Bucs expecting from Brady?

Fewer empty seats for one thing. They had the second-lowest home stadium percentage in the NFL last season at 79.1.

Brady wasn’t great last season, and he will be 43 next season.

Julian Edelman was the Patriots’ only receiver with more than 400 yards, and their offense did a really good job of reminding everybody football is a team sport and a quarterback’s success is directly related to the team around him.

As Tom Fornelli of CBSsports.com pointed out, Brady was 18th in the league on target rate for passes 15 yards or more in the air. (Aren’t you glad that there are people out there with enough time on their hands to figure that out?)

Fornelli also pointed out Brady’s overall target rate has gone down for the past five seasons while his passes have become shorter. His average air yards per attempt last season was 3.42.

He will have much better weapons to work with next season in Tampa. Wide receiver Mike Evans has made two Pro Bowls, and he will have two good tight ends in O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate.

Did I mention he’s 43?

Expectations are high in Tampa. The Bucs had a digital billboard up welcoming Brady to town the day he signed.

Here’s what Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times wrote: “This is not Willie Mays, who looked years older at 42 while hanging on to play for the New York Mets. This is not Joe Namath without knees hobbling around for the Los Angeles Rams or Johnny Unitas heavy-legged in high tops at 40 with the Chargers.”

Of course, that remains to be seen.

One thing Brady has going for him is it has never been easier to play QB in the NFL if you’re playing for a good team.

Maybe Brady only completing more than 55% of his passes once in his last seven games last year was about his lack of weapons and not his age.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an organization known more for its ineptitude than its success, is willing to bet $50 million against the salary cap the next two years that 44 is not too old.

Speaking of betting, before Brady left, the Patriots were 12-1 to win the Super Bowl. The Bucs were 50-1. Since the signing, the Patriots are 20-1 and the Bucs are 16-1.

Tampa Bay was 7-9 last season, New England was 12-4.

Who wins more games next season? My money’s on Bill Belichick.