Breaking: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Brady Agree to Contract Extension
It was rumored for a while, and now it is becoming official: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Tom Brady have agreed to a contract extension in order to create immediate salary cap room, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Brady's new deal includes three voidable years and results in a one-year extension to lock the 43-year-old in through the 2022 season, Schefter shared. The new contract provides the Buccaneers with $19 million in savings after Brady was set to account for a $28.4 million cap hit in 2021.
Over the Cap projected that the Buccaneers were $5.5 million over the 2021 salary cap on Friday morning, not accounting for linebacker Lavonte David's two-year contract extension signed on Tuesday. David's deal includes a 2021 cap hit of just $3.5 million and three voidable years as well.
According to our calculations in correspondence with Over the Cap, Brady and David's new contracts would leave the Buccaneers with approximately $10 million in 2021 cap space as of this story.
Although room will still need to be created beyond Brady's extension, the Buccaneers are inching closer to the possibility of providing edge rusher Shaq Barrett with a long-term contract, and the ability to retain other free agents such as defensive end Ndamukong Suh and tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Brady signed a two-year contract with the Buccaneers last offseason to put a talented franchise in playoff contention. That led to a miraculous Super Bowl LV run in which Tampa Bay defeated the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 31-9, as the only team to ever host a league championship in their own stadium
Brady finished his 2020 season, including the playoffs, with a 64.4% completion percentage, throwing for 5,705 yards, 50 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Showing very few, if any, signs of slowing down, Tampa Bay is banking on Brady and its core of contributors to return in 2021 and make a run at a second consecutive title.
