Bill Belichick suggests renaming Lombardi Trophy after former Buccaneers QB Tom Brady

Tom Brady knows a thing or two about winning a Super Bowl — with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy with his daughter, Vivian, after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy with his daughter, Vivian, after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. / Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images
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The Lombardi Trophy, awarded to the NFL team that wins the Super Bowl every year, is considered among the most coveted trophies in sports. The game is very hard to win, and many players go their whole career in the NFL without so much as playing in the big game. The same cannot be said for Tom Brady — he's played in 10, and he's won seven.

Brady's successes in championship games have made him nearly the consensus pick for the NFL's greatest player. He won six of those in New England with the Patriots, where he's most known for his reign of terror, but he won his last one in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020 season. Winning that trophy was just another notch on his incredibly impressive belt, and it doesn't go unnoticed — especially by his former coach.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy during a boat parade to celebrate victory.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy during a boat parade to celebrate victory in Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs. / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Former New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick — currently serving as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels after signing a contract this offseason — spoke on SiriusXM's NFL Radio on Wednesday, and he stressed that players, not coaches, win Super Bowls. While he acknowledged that coaches have to put those players in the best chances to win, it's the players that win Super Bowls, and he rattled off a number of his former players, including, of course, Tom Brady.

When asked about the fact that the Lombardi Trophy is named for Vince Lombardi and not Bart Starr, Belichick remarked that it should be named after Tom Brady for his successes in the big game.

"Maybe they should name it the 'Brady Trophy,'" Belichick said. "He won seven of them"

While Belichick likely wasn't entirely serious here, it just goes to show the impact that Tom Brady can have even in the mind of the NFL's greatest all-time head coach. Brady was the impact player that helped the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl in 2020, but he did it alongside other fantastic players like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Leonard Fournette, Lavonte David, Jason Pierre-Paul and more.

It may be a tough order to change the name of the Lombardi Trophy. But Tom Brady's name has become synonymous with it nonetheless.


READ MORE: Rob Gronkowski revealed the one quarterback he practiced with that wasn't Tom Brady

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River Wells
RIVER WELLS

River Wells is a sports journalist from St. Petersburg, Florida, who has covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2023. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter @riverhwells.