Buccaneers Send Strong Message to Tom Brady

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made it clear they want Tom Brady as their quarterback, not just next season but for the foreseeable future. During a recent press conference, Bucs general manager Jason Licht doubled down on the team’s desire to sign Brady to a contract extension. Brady is entering the final season of a two-year, $50 million contract he signed with Tampa last offseason.

“Bruce and I both have a great relationship with Tom, and I have a good relationship with his agent,” Licht said, per ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “We thought Tom played incredibly well this year, along with the entire team. We would love to have Tom play here — I can speak for Bruce — I think as long as he continues to want to play. If that comes to fruition at some point, we’d be elated. But I’d like to keep those conversations private right now.”

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The Buccaneers Discussing Extending Brady Is a Stark Contrast to the Patriots

Fox Sports’ Nick Wright explained why this statement is more than the Bucs saying they want Brady to sign a new deal. It is the Buccaneers’ way of backing Brady for as long as he wants to play, a stark contrast to the Patriots’ stance with the quarterback when he was in New England.

“It’s more than just ‘does this allow the Bucs to bring back another player,'” Wright explained on FS1’s First Things First. “It’s the messaging to Tom: We’re all in with you. You now have the Bucs saying, ‘We want to entrust you beyond age 45.'”

Here’s a look at Wright’s comments about the Bucs doing their best to back Brady for the long haul:

Licht on a Possible Brady Extension: ‘We’d Like to Keep This Going’

This marks the second time this week Licht has discussed the Bucs’ desire to sign Brady to an extension. During an interview on The Rich Eisen Show, Licht declined to get into specifics but admitted the team would like Brady to play in Tampa for more than just next season.

“Well, I talk to Tom often, but I’ll probably keep that under wraps right now,” Licht noted. “Like I said, I know it appears that he really had a good time this year winning the Super Bowl and likes our organization, likes our coaches, likes our head coach and ownership. And we certainly love him, so usually when you have those two things going for each other, it’s a match made in heaven. So, we’d like to keep this going.”

The Bucs Could Gain Cap Room by Signing Brady to a Contract Extension

One of the advantages of signing Brady to an extension is not just to solidify the quarterback position beyond 2021, but it could also open up additional cap space to assist Tampa in their quest to re-sign key free agents. The Buccaneers are attempting to keep as many of their own players as possible including key free agents Shaq Barrett, Lavonte David, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette, among others. The Athletic’s Greg Auman detailed how a new Brady deal could help the Bucs’ salary cap picture.

“If you give him the same $25 million salary in 2022 on a one-year extension, you can then convert that $10 million roster bonus into a signing bonus, which gives him the same money but spreads it out over two years for cap purposes, so his cap number is lowered to $20 million in 2021, but rising to $30 million in 2022,” Auman noted.

Auman explained a few possible extension scenarios including a more aggressive approach that would keep Brady under contract through the age of 46. Although it may sound crazy, it would create even more cap space for the Bucs this offseason.

“Another wrinkle: Extend Brady’s deal by two years, even if you don’t fully expect him to play in 2023 at age 46,” Auman added. “Now that shift to a $20 million signing bonus is spread over three years, so the 2021 cap savings is $13.3 million, with the same amount looming as a cap hit if he retires after one year.”

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