The full breakdown of Tom Brady‘s latest Patriots contract is not yet available, but one piece of language in the deal points to the sides needing to readdress this issue in several months.
The two additional years on Brady’s deal are void years, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This is a tactic teams use to create additional cap space, and it ended up proving the Pats more than $5MM in additional 2019 funds. It essentially means Brady’s new contract amounts to a 2019 pay raise — an $8MM bump. After that, one of the longest unions in NFL history becomes less clear.
Brady and the Patriots have expressed flexibility to talk contract again next year, and Michael Giardi of NFL.com tweets the future Hall of Fame passer is “perfectly content” playing on a year-to-year basis. But the sides will need to do so to ensure the New England icon plays another season with the Patriots. Brady has repeatedly said he would like to play into his mid-40s, and Robert Kraft said during Super Bowl LIII week he would be “quite surprised” if Brady wasn’t the Patriots’ starting quarterback for “quite a while.”
The Saints used the void tactic in Drew Brees‘ most recent contract adjustment and incurred more 2020 dead money in doing so. Both the Patriots and Saints are annually committed to Super Bowl runs, so it is not surprising to see the franchises make moves to better their situations this year. Whether the Patriots make another move to further bolster their 2019 team remains to be seen.
They have been connected to Trent Williams, with Jeff Howe of The Athletic noting (subscription required) the team has explored a deal for the Washington left tackle. The Pats’ 2018 first-round pick and projected left tackle starter, Isaiah Wynn has not yet participated in a full camp practice. Wynn tore an Achilles’ tendon during training camp last year. And the subject of a Rob Gronkowski unretirement has continually surfaced in recent weeks. That would be another obvious place where the Pats’ new money could go.
There’s no story here, even if it’s less than ideal for the Patriots they’ll keep him on the team with the huge cap hit if they have to. As long as Brady is playing it won’t be for another team, Kraft won’t let it happen. *incoming Kraft jokes from the idiots on here because their IQs only let them recycle the same jokes from 4 months ago*
Human trafficking is not a joke. Spending money that supports human trafficking is abhorrent.
Of course one minor detail is there was no trafficking by anyone period
Pretty sure no one even though of making a Kraft joke until you brought it up. Thats very weird of you to be so defensive of him like that anyway. The man was suspected of human trafficking but sure making jokes is too harsh.
It’s not that jokes are too hard it’s that you idiots repeat it over and over thinking you’re original
Calling critics who call out what Kraft did as “idiots” is so self-defeating. You already lost any argument before it begins. But then I guess you have to be that defensive in your position…
It have not made 1 Robert Kraft joke on here ever. Its funny how aggressive you are. Calm down sparky.
He wasn’t suspected of human trafficking,the massage parlor was…He just got a little extra with his rub down.
If a pothead goes to someone who also sells crack for his stuff,is he also a crackhead for going to that guy?
The “truth” is that you’re only a Patriots fan because of the Tom Brady era. When he’s gone, you’ll never use that handle on here again.
So if you gave all 53 players on the roster 2 void years you could basically ignore cap salary restrictions completely.
In theory, maybe. But it doesn’t last forever, and the “void years” still have cap penalties…just in the future, and no as severe as immediately. More teams are using void years in contracts with the thought that the new CBA may change the structure of the salary cap, or significantly increase it, and therefore it’ll be easier to maneuver. However, if a team was to use voidable years on all their players in a given year, it would probably significantly impact their cap in a year or two with heavy dead-money ($75M-$100M?), making them unable to compete.
I feel owners have created a Frankenstein with all these cute and creative ways to circumvent the salary cap. It’s ludicrous now for a GM to tell a player that his contract can’t be re-negotiated because of cap restrictions. Players have become aware that the money can be freed up so they are calling bull____ on that. A perfect example of this is Kyle Rudolph who told the Vikings to stick the pay cut up their a$$. He ended up getting extended with a bonus.