DEARBORN, Mich. – On Saturday, Tom Brady turned 42. Sunday, it appears he was given an extra two.
According to NFL Network, the Patriots QB signed a two-year contract extension with the team. News of this transaction filtered out from ESPN just as the Patriots were traveling to the Detroit area for upcoming joint training camp practice sessions with the Lions.
Before today's developments, Brady, the only player in NFL history ever to win six Super Bowls, was in jeopardy of entering the 2019 regular season as the final year of his current contract – the first time in his career that would have happened. However, it seems the two sides reached an agreement with about a month to go to avoid such a scenario.
Just this past week, Brady was asked by a reporter if he'd be comfortable playing on a "year-to-year" contract basis, and he responded, "We're all day-to-day, if you think about it. None of us are really promised anything. So, I'm trying to do the best I can today and just let those [contract-related] things sort themselves out… so, we'll see how it goes."
If the above media reports are accurate, Brady is now scheduled to receive about an $8 million raise this season (from $15 million in salary to $23 million), yet, the way accounting works in the NFL, this should also give the Patriots a bit more breathing room underneath the salary cap this season.
Brady's hefty pay hikes in the next two years of the new deal might have to be revisited when the appropriate time comes, but for now, it looks as if both sides have found common ground.
