DENVER, CO - JANUARY 24: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots tries to evade a tackle by Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos in the first half in the AFC Championship game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 24, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The Patriots and longtime franchise quarterback Tom Brady have reached a two year extension through 2019, when Brady will be 42 and in his 20th year in the NFL, all with New England.
The deal, first reported by ESPN, will help the Patriots create cap flexibility and lower Brady’s team-high cap hit of $15 million, while increasing the amount of cash he will receive for 2016.
New England will soon have to deal with six key defensive players seeing their contracts expire after the 2016-17 season: linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins, defensive ends Chandler Jones and Jabal Sheard, and cornerbacks Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan. The Patriots would also like to target defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, who can enter free agency this offseason.
Brady and the Patriots have gone through a similar contract restructure in 2014. He has always taken team friendly contracts in order for New England to surround him with a better team to compete for championships consistently. That thinking has worked as Brady has won four Super Bowls and appeared in two others during his 16 completed seasons.
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By taking his team friendly contracts, Brady has been horribly underpaid relative to other quarterbacks who have received monster deals. According to overthecap.com, Brady ranked 21st among quarterbacks in annual salary per year with $9 million, far less than other signal callers like Ryan Tannehill ($19.25 million), Colin Kaepernick ($19 million), Alex Smith ($17 million), Sam Bradford ($13 million), and even Nick Foles ($12.25 million). In theory, Brady should be with the other top tier quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton, in the $20 million range, but has elected for team success instead.
Over his Hall of Fame career, Brady, 39, ranks fifth in passing yards (58,028), tied for third in touchdowns (428), third in regular season wins (172), and first in playoff victories (22).
Brady is also scheduled to appear in court Thursday, March 3, to hear the NFL’s appeal of his overturned suspension stemming from DeflateGate. The hearing will be held in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.
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