The consensus greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, has officially ended his two-decade spell of dominance at the New England Patriots and has signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady won an incredible six Super Bowls as he and head coach Bill Belichick dominated the NFL landscape for the best part of 20 years after drafting the then-unheralded Brady with the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL draft.
He soon won the starting QB job after an injury to high-profile signing Drew Bledsoe, setting into motion an extended era of success in New England.
However, with the 42-year-old Brady now firmly in the twilight of his career it seems that the Patriots hierarchy were keen to move on from their most famous ever player and allowed the soon-to-be Hall of Famer to enter free agency for the first time in his career - and that was the only invitation that Bruce Arians' Buccaneers required.
"Tom is a proven champion who has achieved greatness on the field because he demands the best out of himself and his teammates," Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht said of his new signing.
"I've known Tom since we drafted him in New England 20 years ago and through this process it became very clear that his desire to be a champion burns as strong today as it ever has. He possesses the type of rare natural leadership qualities that will immediately impact our entire organization."
The addition of Brady to the Buccaneers roster suggests that Tampa are in 'win now' mode and are prepping an assault on the 2021 Super Bowl. In Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Brady will have an array of targets in the passing game which far outstrips the talent currently available in New England. The team are also heavily linked to adding former LA Rams running back Todd Gurley, scorer of 35 touchdowns in the past two seasons.
Regardless of any additional roster moves, the signing of Tom Brady will have massive impacts on both the Buccaneers and the Patriots. For the first time since Drew Bledsoe's debut in 1993, Belichick's team are entering an NFL season with uncertainty as to who their starting quarterback is.
Jarrett Stidham, a rookie picked up in the later rounds of last year's draft, appears to be at the top of the queue to replace Brady but names like Andy Dalton, Jacoby Brissett and even Saints livewire Taysum Hill, as well as the man Brady is replacing in Tampa, Jameis Winston, are being touted in the press as potential additions.
Whoever ends up getting the job, though, won't just be tasked with replacing Tom Brady on the field, but with replicating the two-decade culture of success enjoyed by the team. It is quite the shadow for someone like Stidham, who has thrown four passes in his entire NFL career, to emerge from.
For Patriots fans, the post-Brady era which they always knew would come one day has arrived but the sheer inevitability of it doesn't make the angst of the split any easier to digest - particularly if the evergreen Brady can continue to work his magic in Florida.