Getty Tom Brady could sign a contract extension with the Bucs.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been open about their desire to sign Tom Brady to a contract extension, and it appears talks are progressing in a positive direction. NFL insider Josina Anderson reported the Bucs are “getting closer” to reaching a new deal with Brady.
“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.”
Brady is entering the final season of a two-year, $50 million deal with the Buccaneers that he signed last offseason. A new contract not only keeps Brady in Tampa beyond 2021 but likely gives the team more cap flexibility in their quest to re-sign key free agents.
“From what I heard, the team has a fairly ambitious list of their own guys to work through keeping,” Anderson added. “Will be interesting to watch the cap gymnastics play out for that endeavor and to see how much- the final structure on Brady’s reworked deal aids the team’s ability to do that too.”
ALL the latest Bucs news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Bucs newsletter here!
Brady’s Contract Discussions with the Bucs Are ‘Routine,’ per The Athletic
Not everyone is describing a new deal between the Bucs and Brady as imminent. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe also reported the two sides are talking about an extension but added “the discussions have been characterized as routine.”
“Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has discussed a new contract with the team, a source told The Athletic’s Jeff Howe on Saturday,” The Athletic explained. “According to the source, the discussions have been characterized as routine for this time of the year. Brady has a year left on his current contract which will count as $28.3 million on the Bucs’ salary cap in 2021.”
The Athletic’s Greg Auman detailed the potential cap savings the Buccaneers could have if Brady inks a new deal this offseason. Tampa Bay is aiming to re-sign a number of key players including Shaq Barrett, Lavonte David, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski and Chris Godwin among others.
“The goal with any extension for Brady is to free up salary-cap space to sign other pending free agents,” Auman noted. “Any portion of Brady’s $15 million salary and $10 million roster bonus can be converted to a signing bonus and spread out over additional years, once they’re added to the deal.An example: The Bucs add another year with $25 million, and shift $20 million in 2021 compensation to a signing bonus, freeing up $10 million in cap space this year. It‘s a bigger cap hit in 2022, but Bucs have lots of flexibility next year.”
Brady Left the Door Open to Playing Past 45
Brady has repeatedly said that he would like to play until he is 45 years old. This would require Brady to suit up at least another two seasons, but the quarterback noted prior to the Super Bowl that he is open to playing even longer.
“Yeah, definitely. I would definitely consider that [playing beyond the age of 45] and, again, it’s a physical sport,” Brady said. “Just the perspective I have on that is you never know when that moment is just because it’s a contact sport and there’s a lot of training that goes into it. Again, it has to be a 100 percent commitment from myself to keep doing it. I’ve been very fortunate over the years. Alex and I work really hard to make sure physically I can perform at my best because you take different hits. Over the course of the year, you deal with different bumps and bruises, different injuries and so forth. It’s just going to be me continuing to make that commitment to making it part of my year-round process to play football and continue my career.”
READ NEXT: Tom Brady & Bucs Expected to Form ‘Super Team’ in Free Agency: Report