Man in the Arena: Tom Brady Finale Recap: Brady Reveals What Motivated Him to Win a Super Bowl With the Bucs

In recent years, all-time great athletes who have reached the pinnacle of success have begun recounting stories from their playing days by shifting the narrative from hearsay and media reporting to their own personal perspectives via their own docuseries; see Michael Jordan's ESPN award-winning docuseriesThe Last Dance or Magic Johnson's new Apple TV+ series They Call Me Magic. What makes Tom Brady's Man in the Arena different from the rest is that the quarterback is still actively playing (after briefly flirting with retirement) and in the tenth and final episode, the Buccaneers quarterback was joined by his teammate Rob Gronkowski and his father Tom Brady Sr. as they reflected on the 2020 season and the Bucs' journey to winning Super Bowl LV.

Directed by Gotham Chopra, each episode of Man in the Arena saw Brady share his account of one of his Super Bowl appearances. However, the final episode was set against the backdrop of the pandemic and it's his first Super Bowl appearance in which he's not a member of the New England Patriots. 

The episode opened with Brady pondering how to find joy in the simple things and being the best athlete he can be. After losing to the Titans in the 2020 Wildcard Round, in which Brady threw a heartbreaking pick-six to former Patriots teammate Logan Ryan, Brady knew things in New England were coming to an end. While reflecting on that particular play, Brady stated, "In football, you get what you deserve, and we deserved to end that way," which sounded like he had made peace with his career with the Patriots ending that way.

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The seven-time Super Bowl-winning QB credited his relationship with his father as a pivotal reason why he would go on to have unprecedented success on the field. The elder Brady instilled the love of football into his son by taking him to San Francisco 49ers games. Brady was in the stands when Dwight Clark made 'The Catch,' and the elder Brady would go to all of his son's games, whether it would be in the freezing cold of Buffalo or the jungle in Cincinnati. The younger Brady's raw emotions were felt throughout the episode when discussing his father's impact and how he wanted to live up to the example that his father set.

Because of the pandemic, Brady Sr. wasn't able to attend his son's games as in previous years. During the tumultuous 2020 season, Brady Sr. revealed that he had his own bout with COVID, which lasted 18 days and nearly put him on a ventilator. Having his father going through a near-death experience motivated Tom once he joined his new teammates in Tampa.

Choosing the Bucs wasn't an easy process for Brady, as the QB used a meticulously methodological process that included a list of factors that were weighted differently: weather, quality of life, quality of the players at skills positions, and more. That kind of planning and processing of information is what has helped Brady separate himself from the pack in his two-plus-decade career.

Like the cannons that go off after every Bucs touchdown, Brady chose a team with firepower which featured offensive weapons Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Cameron Brate, OJ Howard, and Ronald Jones, but the biggest treasure for Brady was luring former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski out of retirement to join him in Tampa. Gronkowski, who was featured in Episode 8, called himself a "repeat character" of the series and came out of retirement to join his old quarterback because he felt like they could steer the Buccaneers' ship in the right direction.

To this day, the Buccaneers have the worst winning percentage among NFL franchises (.402), but Brady's goal of bringing a winning culture to the organization cannot go understated. Since joining the team in 2020, the Bucs have double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1999 and 2000 seasons. In the episode, it was noted that this wasn't an easy process. During the first game of the 2020 season, the Bucs lost to the Saints 34-23 in New Orleans. After winning six of their next seven, Gronk and Brady felt like the team bottomed out again when the Saints marched into Raymond James Stadium on Sunday Night Football and blew out the Bucs 38-3. In fact, this was the first time in Brady's storied career where a division opponent swept the future Hall of Fame QB.

Brady's whole career has been about responding to adversity. As the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, many didn't expect the QB to have all the success he has had. The sixth-round selection has had the most fourth-quarter comebacks in the history of the NFL with 52, and in typical Brady fashion, he didn't let the stomping from the Saints discourage him or his teammates.

After the Week 9 loss against New Orleans, in an attempt to motivate the Bucs, head coach Bruce Arians told his team to "count the bodies, bury the dead, and move on," which didn't help as the team lost three of their next four and had a 7-5 record heading into their bye week. Brady and Gronk reflected on finding their footing as the team started clicking after winning their last 4-games to secure a playoff spot.

After defeating the Washington Football Team in the Wildcard round, Brady was able to settle the score against the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round. Brady had never lost three times to a divisional opponent, and thanks to the Bucs' defense, the team was able to advance to the NFC Championship game after defeating the Saints 30-20.

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As the episode reached its final 20 minutes, Brady discussed the 2021 NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LV. At 43 years old, Brady became the oldest QB to win an NFC title game (he had already held the record for the oldest QB to win the AFC title game when he was 41). It meant a lot to Brady to beat Drew Brees and the Saints in the Superdome, and Aaron Rogers and the Packers at Lambeau Field. 8,500 fans were in attendance at a freezing cold Lambeau for the NFC title game, in which Brady could still vividly remember how the sun hit the stadium, how the grass felt, and how the reflections bounced off the helmets. Of all the games covered in the episode up to this point, the NFC title game seemed to mean the most to Brady, and after the Bucs won 31-26, Brady thanked his son, which is full circle because of Brady's relationship with his father.

The Bucs would go on to finish the job and hoist the Lombardi Trophy after defeating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV by a score of 31-9. Brady credits his defense for the Super Bowl win and the previous two playoff wins and capped off his experience in his first year in Tampa by saying, "You can have different approaches and end up with the same thing," which is sound advice that everyone can relate to even if we're all not five-time Super Bowl MVP or the man in the arena.

Episode aired:Monday, April 25 at 11:00 PM ET on ESPN+. Episodes 1-9 are available on ESPN+
Who's in it:Tom Brady, Tom Brady Sr., Rob Gronkowski
Who's behind it: Tom Brady (EP), Victor Buhler (EP), Gotham Chopra (Director)
For fans of: NFL, Tom Brady