Tom Brady Restructures Deal To Give New England Patriots Cap Relief

Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) walks off the field after the AFC championship game against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. The Ravens won 28-13. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady cannot be called a selfish player. He signed a contract extension for 3 years at $27 million, significantly less than a player of Brady’s quality can demand. And while quarterbacks in the NFL make news for their large and record breaking contracts, Brady’s makes news for different reasons.

As reported by SI’s Peter King the contract and the 3 additional years will make sure Brady remains a Patriot through the 2017 season when he will be 40 years old. Effectively ensuring he will retire as a Patriot.

But the contract will bring valuable relief to the Patriots during the “flat cap era.”

He will get a $3 million signing bonus immediately. Brady will effectively make a base salary of $7 million in 2015, $8 million in 2016 and $9 million in the 2017 season.

King says Brady was going to count for $43.4 million against the cap in 2013 and 2014 under his current deal. But with his new deal he will now count for a total of $28.6 million in those two seasons.

That’s a savings of $15 million for the Patriots.

Here are his salary cap impact figures for the contract:

2013: $13.8 million
2014: $14.8 million
2015: $13 million
2016: $14 million
2017: $15 million

This frees them up to find targets for Tom Brady to throw to, like resigning Wes Welker for instance, one of Brady’s favorite targets.