When Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage, who was signed earlier this week, picked up his phone on Monday night, he thought it was a prank. The person on the other end was claiming to be Tom Brady
Gage didn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe it.
“For a minute, I thought it was a prank, somebody was trying to pull one on me,” Gage said, via ESPN.
It quickly became apparent that it was no joke. The call wasn’t a prank. The great Tom Brady really was on the other end and the conversation, which took place while Gage was taking out the trash, is something he’ll remember forever.
“He just told me about what they have here in Tampa Bay and that he wanted me to be a part of it, that they have something really special going on. Honestly, he didn’t have to say much. He definitely had me hooked on it after that,” Gage added. “It was definitely special.”
Gage admits he had no prior personal relationship with Brady, adding that their only interactions came before and after games in which their team’s played. That last such interaction came following an 11-catch, 130-yard performance in Week 13 of last season.
The Buccaneers defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 30-17, in that contest.
“I had just seen some fake news on social media so my mind was kind of on fake news, so then when I got the call it was kind of like, ‘All right.’ I’m in a state of shock and I’m stuck between, ‘OK, this is unreal’ and ‘this is not funny!'” Gage said. “Just trying to navigate my way through that, and then as we got going, I realized, ‘OK, this is something serious.’
“I had conversations with teams and offers and whatnot, but this was just completely different. This was like no other. It was a huge blessing.”
Gage was just three years old when Brady entered the league. Now he’s 26 and can officially call himself a teammate of the greatest of all-time.
Photo: Dec 26, 2021; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) warms up before the game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
