Buccaneers Star Sounds off on Tom Brady’s New Deal

Tampa Bay extending Tom Brady’s contract had Buccaneers star linebacker Lavonte David excited after also officially signing his extension.

Brady signed a salary cap-friendly, one-year contract extension on Friday, which will spread his earnings out over four years via voidable years in the contract per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. David helped the Bucs’ salary cap, too, with a two-year extension that includes three voidable years.

“Tom is one of those great guys who understands that it takes a whole village to win,” David said in Friday’s press conference. “It takes a team, a group of guys to win football games, and me, the same thing. I’m all about team.”

“The bond that we shared this year, it’s like no other,” David added.

David and Brady, both team captains, helped the Bucs go 11-5 and win Super Bowl LV, beating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians and general manager Jason Licht both said at the boat parade on Feb. 10 that they want to keep the team together for 2021.

David concurrs.

“Trying to get everybody back, man, because it was a tight group, man. We have a lot of playmakers and definitely guys who help us win football games,” David said in the press conference. “We definitely want to get everybody back, come back and try to win more championships, as many as we can, all together.”

“There’s a lot of great guys out there and not only good football players but good men out there that we played with, that we had in the locker room,” David added. “We want those types of guys in our locker room.”

To keep the 2020 Bucs intact, management has an $182.5 million salary cap to work with in 2021 according to Over The Cap. Upon signing Brady and David to extensions, the Bucs sit at $8.8 million over cap. David’s salary will count as $3.5 million against the cap in 2021 per ESPN’s Jenna Laine. Brady’s contract cap hit will count around $9 per USA Today’s  Nate Davis and Jarrett Bell.

Tampa also franchise-tagged star wide receiver Chris Godwin earlier in the week, so he will make $16 million according to Spot Trac. It leaves linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who received the franchise tag in 2020, as a high priority for signing though he wants a significant pay increase.

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David’s Big Goals

David, the longest-tenured Bucs player on the roster, said in the press conference that he “didn’t want to go” to another team in free agency.

“I have a legacy here that I’m trying to change,” David said, adding that he “wants to win more Super Bowls.”

“With all the stuff that I dealt with the previous eight years, and finally you win one and finally up and leave, I’m like, ‘no, man, I want to keep on winning,'” David said.

Tampa drafted David in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. The former first-team All-Pro accrued 24 sacks, 24 forced fumbles, 16 fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions, 51 pass deflections, three defensive touchdowns, and 1,125 tackles in nine seasons. He never played in a postseason game until the Bucs Super Bowl run in 2020 as the franchise struggled amid a 13-year playoff drought.

He helped erase that drought and the Bucs 18-year playoff win and Super Bowl drought.

“This organization, this team, this city deserves a lot more, and I want to be a part of it,” David said.

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