Getty Tom Brady is on his way to making a full recovery after knee surgery.
Contract talks between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady appear to be heating up as the legendary quarterback enters the final year of his current deal. CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported that Brady is likely to sign an extension that would keep the quarterback in Tampa for another three seasons, meaning TB12 would be 46 years old in the final year of the deal.
The NFL insider added that Brady wants his cap hit for next season to be “much lower” to allow the Bucs to retain their Super Bowl roster. Tampa Bay could even explore signing Brady to a three-year extension to allow the signing bonus money to be spread out over four seasons.
“He has one year at a modest $25M remaining on his deal, counting a hefty $25M against the cap,” La Canfora explained. “He wants that figure to be much lower, according to league sources, and so do the Bucs. He believes he can play three or more years, and so do the Bucs. He doesn’t want to move his family or play anywhere else and, you guessed it, the Bucs don’t want anyone but him under center for the foreseeable future. So it says here, this contract extension will get done. The team could add three years to his deal, continue to pay him around the bargain rate he is making, and be well positioned to keep this thing going.”
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Brady Wants to Restructure His Contract to Help the Bucs ‘Retain Great Players’
To be clear, Brady is unlikely to give up money but a contract extension allows the Bucs more flexibility to spread his dollars over the additional years of the deal. It will be worth watching to see if Brady’s new contract still gives him his current average annual salary of $25 million.
If so, Brady would be signing something which equates to a new three-year, $75 million deal. La Canfora noted that Brady’s extension talks center around giving the Bucs the ability to re-sign their key free agents. Tampa Bay is already off to a great start by re-signing Chris Godwin and Lavonte David.
“As one source put it, the thrust of this is about ‘doing what he can to help retain great players and build a foundation for more success,'” La Canfora added. “It’s about creating a salary strata where other players in their prime can continue to cash in, with the team that drafted them, while Brady helps steward them to more deep playoff runs. …They could give him $20M-plus in a bonus and spread it over four years (if three new years are added on) and have enough to keep multiple players right there. That’s where this is headed. And I suspect Brady, if three new years are added, fulfills that contract.”
The Bucs Are Reportedly ‘Getting Closer’ to a Contract Extension with Brady
La Canfora’s story comes on the heels of NFL insider Josina Anderson’s report that the Bucs are “getting closer” to signing Brady to a new deal. The news is not that surprising as the Bucs admitted on multiple occasions that they are open to signing their franchise quarterback to an extension.
“I’m told the Bucs are ‘getting closer’ to reworking Tom Brady’s contract, per source,” Anderson noted on Twitter. “Tom Brady will be 44 in August. Brady has said he’d ‘consider’ playing beyond 45 years old.”
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