San Diego ? Tampa Bay owner Malcolm Glazer paid a huge price to the Oakland Raiders to acquire Jon Gruden as coach of the Buccaneers last winter.

It paid off Sunday.

“Everybody was saying we paid too much for him,” placekicker Martin Gramatica said after the Bucs beat the Raiders 48-21 in the Super Bowl. “We’d give a lot more.”

Gruden was under contract to Oakland for one more season, but it was clear he wanted out, and Raiders owner Al Davis felt the same after the two couldn’t agree on a contract extension.

So the Bucs gave the Raiders two first-round draft choices, two second-round picks and $8 million.

“I think the Glazers will take the trade right now, us being champions,” said Tampa Bay wide receiver Keenan McCardell, who caught two touchdown passes from Brad Johnson.

“Jon’s a very good coach, but I don’t think it made a difference that he was over there today,” Raiders tackle Barry Sims said. “He didn’t line up against us. It was Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, guys like that.”

But Sims also said: “They knew what was coming. Our offenses are similar.”

The results were disappointing.

“It’s tough, yeah,” the 36-year-old Raiders receiver said. “It’s not like we played our best football game and lost the game. We would have been beaten by a lesser team than Tampa.”

Brown caught his 1,000th career pass this season to become the third player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.

He had one catch for nine yards in the Super Bowl.

“Things happen sometimes for unexplained reasons,” he said.

Brown’s wife is expecting twins any day.

“Everything is fine,” he said, adding he expected to return home Monday with the rest of his teammates unless something came up.

As for recent reports he might retire: Forget it.

Speaking briefly nearly three hours before the Super Bowl, the 73-year-old managing partner of the Oakland Raiders said speculation he was in ill health was untrue.

“I’ve been telling people, ‘I’ll bring you up to Oakland and I’ll work out for you,”‘ he said with a smile.

Davis seemed relaxed and in good spirits and walked with ease as he strode down a hallway at Qualcomm Stadium.