Super Bowl 2021: Bucs' Tom Brady guaranteed victory over Chiefs in specific nightly text to teammates

The GOAT never had a doubt and he let his team know it

Tom Brady went full Joe Namath ahead of Super Bowl LV -- well, mostly anyway. While he stopped short of throwing on a full-length mink or publicly guaranteeing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would defeat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium, he did make his teammates a promise behind the scenes in the days ahead. Despite entering the game as slight underdogs on their own field, Brady made sure the Bucs understand exactly what was about to happen on Sunday, and it wasn't going to be a loss on their own field with a Lombardi trophy on the line.

Any doubts they might've had went out the window when Brady sent each of his teammates an abbreviated three-word text -- repeatedly -- nightly at 11 p.m. that contained one simple but potent message.

"We WILL win," it said, according to running back Leonard Fournette, via Jenna Laine of ESPN. 

Yes, Brady guaranteed victory to his Tampa Bay compatriots. 

This should come as a shock to absolutely no one, considering the competitive nature of the 43-year-old. With both legacy and revenge from Week 12 on the line, Brady mounted up and threw for three touchdowns with no interceptions against the Chiefs defense, reawakening the monster that is Rob Gronkowski in the process -- the two connecting for two touchdowns and setting an NFL record in the process. His third went to mercurial wideout Antonio Brown, who missed the NFC title game and is now the owner of his first-ever Super Bowl win after being out of the league as recently as early November. 

In the end, it was as much of a defensive beatdown as it was an offensive effort, with the Bucs defense holding Mahomes to only nine points and zero touchdowns on the day, but instead intercepting him twice and bullying him in the backfield. The lopsided victory wasn't what many expected, except for the Bucs, who desperately wanted to prove Brady right in the Super Bowl -- going on to do just that. Brady is now the proud owner of seven championships and five Super Bowl MVP honors, further solidifying not only his status as the greatest of all-time, but also that it's not time to advocate his throne to his successor-in-waiting.

And with Brady committing to returning in 2021, it's the Bucs who want to run it back.