Tom Brady is not retiring anytime soon. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Brady has agreed to a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The contract extension is for four years, but it voids to a one-year deal that keeps Brady with the Buccaneers through the 2022 season.
Schefter said these moves save the Buccaneers $19 million against the team’s salary cap. Additionally, the voidable years are there to “defray the cost” and keep Brady with the team as long as possible. This move comes one month after Brady led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title since 2002. It’s also the seventh Super Bowl win for Brady in his career as he won six with the New England Patriots.
Videos by PopCulture.com
In late February, Buccaneers’ general manager Jason Licht talked about extending Brady’s contract. “That’s a possibility,” Licht said on The Rich Eisen Show. “He certainly didn’t look like he slowed down any this year. So, that’s a possibility. We’ll have to see how that goes. “I talk to Tom often. Probably keep that under wraps right now. It appears that he really had a good time this year, winning the Super Bowl. Likes our organization, likes our coaches, likes our head coach and ownership. And we certainly love him.” Licht went on to say that the team would “like to keep this going.”
The extension means Brady will be playing with the Buccaneers at the age of 45 in 2022, which will make him the oldest starting quarterback in NFL history. Before the Super Bowl, Brady talked about playing past 45. “I would definitely consider that,” he said. “It’s a physical sport, and just the perspective I have on that is you never know when that moment is. …There’s a lot of training that goes into it. It has to be a 100% commitment for myself to keep doing it. I’ve been fortunate over the years.”
Even at 43 years old, Brady shows no signs of slowing down. In his first season with the Buccaneers, Brady threw for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns. He also led the Buccaneers to four playoff wins, and three of those wins were road games. 2020 was the first time in Brady’s career where he won four playoff games in one season.
