Tom Brady And The Salary Cap
March 12th, 2020
High rent.
Joe’s head is still buzzing about the wild Tom Brady rumor floated by BSPN this week that the future Hall of Fame quarterback would become sort of a co-offensive coordinator/co-general manager for the Bucs.
You want splash? That will bring splash.
BSPN, FOX News, Telemundo, Entertainment Weekly, CNN, TMZ, Telemundo, i24, Extra, TV Azteca, Variety, Globo and maybe the BBC would be all over the Bucs if they somehow landed Brady. (Just a hunch, but Joe doesn’t think Brady and the Bucs would bring many eyeballs for Al Jazeera so they likely would pass on the story.)
And while on the surface this story is simply delicious, reasoned Bucs fans are likely starting to sweat. Why? Well, Brady ain’t going to come cheap. Last year, per Spotrac.com, Brady made $23 million, which was/is damn cheap. And that’s one reason Brady isn’t expected back with the Belicheats. He got tired of taking hometown discounts.
Joe doesn’t think it is a stretch to guess, the way the Bucs are reportedly heavy-panting over him, that he might stick up the Bucs for $30 to $35 million this season.
Again, per Spotrac.com, they estimate the Bucs have a hair under $85 million to spend under the cap. In a perfect world, a team likes to keep a cushion of $15-20 million set aside to sign rookies and to have a nest egg available to sign or trade for guys to replace injured players.
This gets Joe to wonder if the Bucs make Brady a pitch he cannot refuse, will they have cash left over to re-sign for Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh?
If the Bucs cannot get JPP back, then Joe is going to guess the Bucs might be players for Jadeveon Clowney or Yannick Ngakoue. Those two won’t come cheap either.
And if the Bucs are going to chase a quality free agent or two, as Joe pointed out on Twitter earlier this week, don’t you think he would want to know who the starting quarterback will be before he gets into serious contract negotiations?
If you need to get your mind off the coronavirus pandemic, the soap opera that is the Bucs will help you the next couple of weeks.
March 12th, 2020 at 5:20 am
Look, I’d rather keep our defence together than invest the whole damn franchise on one 42 year old player.
Yeah, quarterbacks are critical, but football is a team sport.
March 12th, 2020 at 5:22 am
Part of what made Brady and the Pat’s great was Brady used to know how to share.
March 12th, 2020 at 5:43 am
If he just wants money he can go to the Raiders. He wants to win without Belichick. I’d bet he’d be cheap for the right situation
March 12th, 2020 at 5:46 am
I think Brady said he wants to play until 45 (he’ll be 43 when the season starts), so I’m guessing his contract demands would be 3 years, $100 million (or so). I don’t care about “splash” moves, just build a team that would/could be a consistent winner.
March 12th, 2020 at 5:46 am
What a dumb deal let someone else overpay for him. this coach and G.M. do not care about this team only their own ass. This coach run around talking about his players on press row, he need to sit down and shout up ,what he should be doing is in the film room watching film trying to make his team better as a whole.
March 12th, 2020 at 5:54 am
Yeah what happened to “we have to bring this defense back”?
None of the CLUELESS seem to care about that if Brady’s here. You are so CLUELESS you don’t even know when you are talking out of both sides of your mouth. Morons!!!
March 12th, 2020 at 6:11 am
Bridgewater 20 mil a yr.
March 12th, 2020 at 6:16 am
If they sign Brady, expect 1 or 2 extra years on the contract to spread out the signing bonus. He will be about max guaranteed money. Don’t discount free agents who WILL play for a tad less to play with Brady. Also don’t discount Bucs ability to restructure a few deals to free up cash. If he comes here, the Bucs will be pushing all in. Ultimately we’ll likely have some cap issues down the road but they can offset that with a young QB eventually taking over.
Just a hunch, but Bucs have been focusing a lot on o-linemen in this draft….which is a bit of a signal they are going for an older vet. They’ve also gone completely quiet…..except when dismissing Winston. My belief is Bucs have deal done, but as we saw with Favre, its not done until its signed. Anything can change that.
March 12th, 2020 at 6:18 am
This just makes no sense whatsoever! I’d put all my chips on Brady staying in NE, using this as a ploy to drive up his salary.
Outside of calling people “morons” Ndog is 100% correct. We need to prioritize signing our defensive players.
“As the QB carousel turns…”
March 12th, 2020 at 6:37 am
hahaha …more gaslighting
March 12th, 2020 at 6:42 am
Something about knowing the Super Bowl will be in Tampa this season and knowing The Goat is leading your team to it “just might” carry enough intrigue for ALL players to do what it takes to keep the team together and go get that ring.
March 12th, 2020 at 6:43 am
Some people here think that just because the Bucs want Brady that the Bucs will get Brady.
Brady won’t want to come here, wake up people. He’ll take one look at how much Jameis got hit last year and say nope.
March 12th, 2020 at 7:04 am
Ndog Says:
March 12th, 2020 at 5:54 am
Yeah what happened to “we have to bring this defense back”?
None of the CLUELESS seem to care about that if Brady’s here. You are so CLUELESS you don’t even know when you are talking out of both sides of your mouth. Morons!!
—————-^^^^^^
Good morning, “Claire” from “Clueless”! It’s obvious that Brady would be like reeling in the Moby Dick of fish. Short of that, bring back the D AND move on from America’s Turnover Machine.
If Jameis leaves to be a backup somewhere else next year, will you please post an apology, or in turn refer to yourself as a “clueless moron”? Reading that would be poetic irony, much like the 30th pick of the year- a walkoff choke job in OT that set the record 7th pick six in a season.
March 12th, 2020 at 7:18 am
It would be like going to Disney. 1 week of hype and the thrill is gone and you are not going back for 20 years.
March 12th, 2020 at 7:26 am
Recipe for disaster here…big money to 40+ QB and ignoring bringing back others? that… would be immense stupidity!
March 12th, 2020 at 7:27 am
Ndog
Act so tough . Everyday calling people names
Claiming you are more of a bucs fan then everyone else
Claiming you know football more then anyone else
And stop acting like its more about the bucs
March 12th, 2020 at 7:30 am
And why are people so worried about short term investment /results
We havent seen longterm investments in almost 20 years
March 12th, 2020 at 7:47 am
Personally I think this is pure BS speculation…
Brady never cared about the money, why would he care now? Especially considering he’s a shell of his former self at 43…Not to mention he’s married to a freaking super model worth God only knows how much $$$…
Imo, Brady is a system QB, who has to prove he can win without Belichick…Coming to Tampa Bay would be a huge gamble…I just don’t see Tampa as a realistic landing spot…
As the world turns
March 12th, 2020 at 7:50 am
You think Yannick or Clowney will come cheaper than JPP, doubt that, Yannick is going to get franchised then traded, he has been looking for that fat contract for a few years, same with Clowney, he Loki g for that JJ Watt money too. So yeah, signing Brady for that much, will cost us some vets on defense
March 12th, 2020 at 7:57 am
Evolving: Right, Brady has other options (Vegas, LA, maybe SF).
March 12th, 2020 at 8:03 am
But we already have Jason Licht and Bruce Arians along with their phalanxes of assistant coaches. I don’t think there is room for Tom Brady. Speaking of rooms who’s office would he take 🙂
March 12th, 2020 at 8:15 am
Bye bye ME and the 18 mill unless he’s willing to restructure if that’s even possible. It’s Perriman time. no need for an 18 mill basketball player when you have a qb who hits in stride and throws before they are open.
love ME, but he’s a stud safety net for jw and Brady could make most players who have separation ability look as good or even better, besides the fact our TE’s would be getting a LOT more work.
March 12th, 2020 at 8:16 am
It’s more likely Bucs will miss playoffs AGAIN and JW will be playing Superbowl in Tampa next year!
March 12th, 2020 at 8:25 am
Throwing cash at the pick 6 king is no biggie. But let’s tighten our purse for the freaking GOAT!!
March 12th, 2020 at 8:37 am
Brady
Winston
Teddy
Rivers
That would be my personal order. I read that Teddy B is option #2 if the Bucs cant land Brady. Not sure how i feel about that one.
If they do sign Brady for $30+ mil/yr, they can still afford to keep Shaq and JPP. Those 2 are the most important of the defensive FAs. Im fine with letting Suh walk. Bring back Dotson on a 1 year deal.
Also buying into the idea of Javon Kinlaw at 14 and RT early 2nd round. RB in the 3rd. If Brady does come in, RT 1st round. Maybe even trade up for 1
March 12th, 2020 at 8:41 am
Joe in Michigan, yep and don’t forget Indy with a very solid o-line and run game. Brady was a huge 49er’s fan growing up and idolized Montana.
Lot of speculation going on right now, when the dust settles we can all move on and focus on the draft and our team.
March 12th, 2020 at 8:43 am
Love Tom Brady!
But build a team for 5-6 years – not 2. Get Teddy Bridgewater and build us another punishing defense. We tried Rocket Men offense.
As my old high school coach said, “If the other team can’t score we can’t lose”.
March 12th, 2020 at 8:43 am
Oops not Coy
March 12th, 2020 at 8:50 am
I guess we’ll find out soon. Considering the Jameis camp was looking for 30 million, who would rather pay 30 mil to? It’s not a hard question. The Franchise tag for Winston was something like 27 mil. An extra 3 mil for a QB like Brady, despite his age? It’s a no-brainer. We still have plenty of cap for Shaq, and JPP, which are the 2 that really matter. I do not believe it’s about the money for Brady, since his wife once made 5 times what he did one season. It’s about whether Bilichick wants to move on. He’s done it plenty of times to other well loved players in the Pats organization. All that said, I strongly doubt he’s leaving NE. I believe Jameis has played his last game for us. If Arians says that is the right decision, I’m no where near qualified to question him. If the goal is “Super Bowl or bust!” and Brady is actually on the block, it’s an easy call.
March 12th, 2020 at 9:38 am
What does the cap go to if they get the new CBA ratified?
March 12th, 2020 at 9:38 am
This sounds like a marriage proposal from the Glazers to Tom Brady. Believe we will just be adding Tom Brady to the list of runaway brides.
March 12th, 2020 at 9:57 am
I’ve had enough “splash moves” in my years as a Bucs fan to last me a lifetime, such as:
Taking Steve Young instead of Reggie White in the 1984 supplemental draft (I’ve always loved pass rushers).
Drafting Vinny Testaverde over Cornelius Bennett, and trading Young off for peanuts.
Trading a 1st Rounder for Chris Chandler because Testaverde got blamed for losses, even though the rest of the team was terrible.
Trading 2 1st Rounders for Keyshawn Johnson, even though it was known he was a locker room cancer.
If signing Brady costs us not being able to sign some of our good players that AREN’T OVER THE HILL LIKE BRADY, this will be another possible “splash move” failure to add to the list.
March 12th, 2020 at 10:25 am
Not sure “ignoring” is the right word. There is only so much cash in the pot to work with.
As for a new CBA, who knows what the cap will be? It will likely be bigger. And would it take effect for the 2020 season? Unanswered questions until/if it is ratified. That could be the gamechanger the Bucs need/want.
March 12th, 2020 at 11:21 am
They coud pay him a reasonable salary identical to his last Patriots salary and then give him a piece of the franchise. 5% or even less. Restructure a few of the higher salaries on the pay roll, load the money to accelerate at the end of his deal. Bottom line is we can get Brady and not break the bank. I would imagine Tom wants a great defense as much as all of us do. This can definitely happen if Tom wants to come here. And his wife is on record as hoping that they go someplace warm. It won’t be Miami – they are years away from being a contender.
March 12th, 2020 at 11:22 am
For the love of defense and the building of a stable long term winning system. Can we sign our defensive players back, and then move forward with the QB signings? 30-35 Million to Brady or Winston or any QB really, does not bid well for us to retain the players we need as starters and depth.
March 12th, 2020 at 11:30 am
i agree with @sarasota….
bring teddy in for 20mil….
thats more than enough cash to sign everyone on defense and still sign FA conklin…..
even brady needs a defense….
GO BUCS!!!!!
March 12th, 2020 at 11:50 am
Negative. He comes to the Bucs to get paid and then relax and count money or get injured with $35 million in his pocket. That money needs to go to a vet stud olineman, and returning defense. I actual prefer paying a mid age stud center and send Jensen packing since the Bucs running game has been in Chrises mode since young Doug Martin and Cadillac Williams. Get a RT in the third round. This most expensive oline is a joke. Some of these guys are going to have to take a pay cut or take a hike.
If we were to pick up Brady on a short contract we would have to get Jacob Eason in the first round. That could be a sweet “bridge” learning from possibly the greatest QB of all time and a HC that’s all about the QB. Might be a good back up QB his rookie year ,also.
March 12th, 2020 at 11:59 am
Try on this scenario for size
We get Brady but for a price, I’ve heard 3yr $100 million but lets say he gives us a deal at 2yrs $65 million. What a deal for the GOAT, right?
This does put a little crimp on our free agent signings though and we will need to free up a little cap space to bring back our defense.
Because The GOAT is less of a down field thrower and much more accurate, a “box em out” basketball rebounder style receiver like Mike Evans becomes a bit of a luxury player that The GOAT doesn’t need. Besides, we still have Godwin on his rookie contract.
ME, as a cap casualty, gets traded for a 3rd rounder. It’s just business, right? It’s OK because Perriman will sign cheap just to play with The GOAT.
Now that The GOAT is free of Bellicheat and out to prove he’s not just a “system” player, The Gronk (who has already inferred that he might come out of retirement) decides to come help his buddy prove that Bellicheat didn’t “make” the two of them (no love lost there). Of course, if Gronk does join the crew, then we would be top heavy in tight ends and again, looking for more money to fit under the cap. So…. Brate gets released and O.J. gets traded for a third or fourth, if not just outright released.
So, there is the flash play by the Bucs, just waiting on the thunder of the season. But what happens to the players that we have just discarded?
Which team has the most 3rd rounders lined up in the draft?
The Patriots need a wide receiver, a tight end, and with Brady gone, a Quarterback. Oh, and Bellicheat may have a bone to pick with Brady wanting to prove he doesn’t need him to succeed. so… We have the makings of a truly historic, team to team, personnel swap. And Bellcheat has NEVER been known for his ability to adapt to changing situations and personnel (ahem, 6th rounder slated to be a perennial back up now considered to be The GOAT)
Honestly folks, If this (highly unlikely) scenario played out. Which team would you place your hard earned cash on to win?
I, for one, will be rooting for my Bucs, but keeping my cash securely in my pocket!
March 12th, 2020 at 12:19 pm
OneBuc55
You at least are onto a major fact in this discussion that has been getting ignored.
“Brady never cared about the money, why would he care now?”
BINGO! To put some numbers in here for you for perspective.
Tom Brady is worth 180 million..add Giselle and their net worth shoots to 540 million. Tom and Giselle are ALREADY worth a half BILLION dollars!!! They have almost limitless earning capacity outside of the NFL already…with her career their production company getting off the ground.
Final money thought for perspective. IF you are worth 1,000,000 NET worth…the difference Brady would see from 25 million to 35-40 million represent about $15,000 in YOUR dollars. I pay attention to 15,000 but I would not make a career decision based on it since I do not HAVE to have it. Same for Brady!
Money will be mostly a respect thing…POWER will be far more important…power to shape the O and play calling and design.
Most important of all however will be WINNING! At 43 Brady is not going to team that cannot win. Since money is such a minor part of his motivation Brady is free to demand the power and he deserves it and lets face it..would you rather have Brady in BA’s right ear or BL?
And so OneBuc while I agree with your observation I’m a little more open minded about whether Brady believes he can win with us. That’s really ALL that’s left for him to prove. WIN without Belicheat, Kraft and the Pats organization. That’s his real motivation…otherwise he simply stays in NE.
All we can do is hope Brady believes in no risk it no biscuit and is willing to take a chance.
March 12th, 2020 at 1:02 pm
Robert you are so stupid . Tom Brady was apart of a dink and dunk system with a great defense and a decent running game . Go back and see how many times that a team put up 30 points against their defense ?? Yall don’t know nothing about football yall are a bunch of media guys that have a narrative against Jamies . But who ever the quarterback is I don’t want to here about how bad the running game is or the defense . So I can’t wait until the season starts because we should be in the superbowl because every quarterback will win with these weapons as long as it’s not Jamies on the team . Lol lol lol yall are so stupid to me .
March 12th, 2020 at 1:02 pm
My personal thought is that the whole Brady thing is just a smoke screen.
Don’t really think it will happen. Could be wrong, just my opinion.
March 12th, 2020 at 2:11 pm
DBBUC may be right. It’s all just a smokescreen which means we are staying Winston.
But if it isn’t I believe the CAP monies could greatly benefit the Bucs. If they are smart. It’s simple, give him the Drew Brees treatment and backload that sucker. Then you execute your plan that when he retires you take a dead cap hit for Brady’s salary but you offset that and have a young cheap QB on a rookie deal take over.
I’m not even one of these CAP calculator fans……I really don’t see what’s so hard to understand.