Tom Brady contract status following return to NFL after short-lived retirement
By John Buhler
Tom Brady is back and will return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a short-lived retirement and should get a nice new contract too.
With Tom Brady deciding now is not the time to hang up the spikes for good, people are wondering where he will play his age-45 season this fall.
Brady was drafted in the sixth round out of Michigan way back in 2000. He spent his first 20 NFL seasons with the New England Patriots. Then in 2020, he signed as a free agent to play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, helping them win Super Bowl 55 over the Kansas City Chiefs upon his arrival in Gulf Coast Florida. Though he temporarily retired, Brady is back to play season No. 23.
So with that in mind, is Brady a free agent now or will he have to suit up for the Buccaneers again?
These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG pic.twitter.com/U0yhRKVKVm
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 13, 2022
Tom Brady unretires: Is Tom Brady a free agent?
No, Brady is not a free agent. He is under contract with the Buccaneers for one more season. Brady is slated to make over $27.27 million this fall. His cap hit for the 2022 NFL season is $20,270,588, but carries a dead cap hit of $15 million. This means trading him is probably not a good option anyway. If Brady wanted to play this fall, it was only going to be for the Buccaneers.
It should be noted that his 2022 contract was seen as a placeholder year. This likely means Tampa Bay will do what it did last offseason and tack on an additional year to help make the numbers work in a hard salary cap.
Tom Brady is already under contract for 2022, but it's a placeholder year worth about $10.4 million. Now that Brady says he's back, it makes sense for the #Bucs to do what they did a year ago, tacking on a year and paying him as one of the NFL's top quarterbacks.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 13, 2022
Doing so would mean Brady could be under contract through the 2023 NFL campaign, his age-46 season out of Michigan. If anybody can play quarterback at a high level until they are 46 years old, it would be foolish to count out The GOAT. He is continuing to win his ongoing battle vs. time.
With Brady coming out of retirement, Tampa Bay is the massive favorite to win the NFC South.
Next. Tom Brady releases statement he’s coming back to Tampa Bay. dark