Tom Brady, Buccaneers owners donating to Hurricane Ian relief efforts | CBC Sports

The Glazer family, owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are donating $1 million US to assist in relief efforts to organizations that are providing support to those who have been most impacted by Hurricane Ian in Southwest Florida and throughout the state.

“The destruction suffered in Southwest Florida and the damage inflicted throughout our state will be felt for some time,” Buccaneers co-owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz said in a statement. “It will take entire communities resiliently working together for an extended period and our family is committed to aiding in the recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with the countless people affected, the heroic first responders and all of those helping to keep others safe.”

Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady announced on Twitter he’s donating to the Florida Disaster Fund and encouraged others to contribute.

Sunday night’s game between Tampa Bay and Kansas City will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa as scheduled.

The Bucs spent most of this week in the Miami area preparing for the highly-anticipated prime-time matchup featuring Brady and Patrick Mahomes to avoid direct contact with the hurricane.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the many thousands in the Southwest Florida region who have been severely impacted by Hurricane Ian,” the team said in a statement.

“We are also very thankful that the Tampa Bay area was spared the most damaging consequences of this powerful storm,” the statement added. “We have informed the NFL, after consulting with local and state agencies, that we are ready to play Sunday night’s game … at Raymond James Stadium as originally scheduled.”

If the Bucs and Kansas City had not been able to play in Tampa, the NFL had said the game would have been switched the Minnesota Vikings’ stadium in Minneapolis.

“We would like to thank all of the local government agencies and the thousands of emergency personnel who worked tirelessly over the past few days to ensure that our area would be ready to respond if needed,” the Bucs said. “We would also like to acknowledge the Miami Dolphins organization for their assistance and hospitality in allowing us to use their practice facilities.”