Should the Buccaneers extend Tom Brady’s contract?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl champions and now have a championship window. They could extend the timeline by extending Tom Brady’s contract.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just won the Super Bowl. The team enters the offseason in the enviable position of defending champions. Now the team is looking at how long they can keep the current championship window open. One question for the Buccaneers will be what to do with Tom Brady. Not that the team wants to get rid of him, but should the Buccaneers extend Brady’s contract?
During the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Brady mentioned he would definitely consider playing past the age of 45, per ESPN. At 43 years old, Brady looked rejuvenated towards the end of the season. The team has him under contract for next season when he will be 44. There are benefits and risks to extending Brady and keeping him in a Buccaneers’ uniform for more than just one more season.
Despite struggling at times in a new offense, Brady was pretty spectacular last season. He wasn’t nails week in and week out, but he gave the team the steady hand it craved. He threw 40 touchdowns for only the second time in his career. Even though when watching Brady he looked to have struggles, he still only had 12 interceptions to go with the 40 touchdowns. He also threw for over 4,500 yards for only the third time in his career.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may find the risk of a Tom Brady extension worth it.
A commitment to Brady now would let him know the team appreciates what he has done for the franchise. He has shown throughout his career that he is willing to take less so that the extra money can be used to help build the team around him. An extension does not mean Brady has to break the bank.
By extending Brady’s contract, the team can also take its time looking for his successor. If they feel like Brady can play another two or three seasons, they could eventually draft a quarterback to replace him.
The quarterback could learn under the tutelage of the best quarterback of all time. The situation could be a win-win for both player and team. Even if they do not find a quarterback to draft, the team could still build pieces so that another free-agent quarterback finds the Buccaneers as appealing as Brady did.
The risk with extending Brady now is that the team is doing something it does not have to do. The Buccaneers could wait until early next season to see how Brady looks at age 44. If he does show any signs of age, they could let the season play out and make a decision based on either the team’s or Brady’s individual results.
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We haven’t seen a quarterback attempt to play at such a high level and lead a team to Super Bowls at age 44 and 45. Of course, Brady has defied the odds already throughout his career.