Hockey Legend Wayne Gretzky on Buccaneers' Mike Evans: 'He's A Great One'
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were finally able to reach an agreement with standout veteran wide receiver Mike Evans on Monday, and on Friday the organization officially announced the inking of the deal with a press conference.
Evans was joined by Bucs' GM Jason Licht for the press conference in which they met with the media to discuss getting to the point of reaching an agreement and the idea of hitting free agency. When posed with the moment about finding out that the two sides reached a deal, Licht shared that he was with the GOAT of hockey, Wayne Gretzky, at a charity event with Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper in which 'the Great One' gave Evans major flowers.
"I'll share this story. Blair and I were at a charity event for Jon Cooper in town and we took a couple hours out of our night to go there. I was standing at the bar talking to Wayne Gretzky without knowing I was talking to Wayne Gretzky and I had to take a phone call. I think it was Mike or Jackie that called, and I went outside and Derrick and Darren [Evans' agents] had agreed to terms - and Mike, his agents had agreed to terms and I went back in and I was fist pumping and all that, and I told Wayne Gretzky that we had re-signed Mike back. And he said 'Woah, he's a great one.' And I thought that was pretty cool, for the great one to say he's a great one."
Evans discussed the story later, acknowledging how big of a deal it is to receive praise such as that from someone of Gretzky's caliber.
"Yeah, that was crazy. I said 'Damn, Wayne Gretzky knows who I am?' That's an accomplishment in itself."
Evans is coming off his 10th consecutive season with 1,000 receiving yards and will look to keep up his torrid pace in 2024 after signing a two-year, $52 million deal to continue his illustrious career in Tampa Bay.
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