Fri, Mar 12, 2021
By Jim Vassallo (Veri.bet Writer)
Veteran quarterback Tom Brady has signed an extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following his seventh Super Bowl win in February. The extension will keep Brady in Tampa Bay through the 2022 season and saves the team $19 million in cap space this year.
Brady will look to secure his eighth ring when the 2021 season opens in September. In his first year in the NFC and away from New England he proved millions of doubters wrong by leading the Buccaneers to the franchise’s second Super Bowl title in history.
Even though the deal was announced by the team, no details were made public. Sources say that it is a four-year extension that can void down to a one-year extension. The three voidable years are to help defray the cost of the deal.
"When we acquired Tom a year ago, we were extremely excited about the leadership, poise and winning track record that he would bring to our locker room. Since that time, he has proven himself to be the ultimate competitor and delivered in every way we had imagined, helping us capture the Lombardi Trophy," Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht said in a statement Friday. "Year after year, Tom proves that he remains one of the elite quarterbacks in this game and we couldn't be happier to keep him in Tampa Bay as we continue to pursue our goals together."
Before announcing the deal, the Buccaneers were $7.756 million over the league salary cap of $182.5 million. The team went over the cap when it signed linebacker Lavonte David to a two-year extension and placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Chris Godwin.
"Tom is one of those guys that understands that it takes a whole village to win," David said Friday. "It takes a team, a group of guys, to win football games. Me, the same thing. I'm all about team. And I'll do what I can, do what it takes to hopefully get everybody back and go do this thing again. ... The bond that we had, the bond that we shared this year -- it was like no other."
By structuring Brady’s contract the way the Buccaneers did, it leaves them room to resign linebacker Shaq Barrett. Barrett was a beast in the playoffs, recording four sacks. Barrett led the entire NFL in sacks in 2019 with 19.5.
The team has a lot of work to do if it wants to defend its title in 2021, as kicker Ryan Succop, wide receiver Antonio Brown, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, tight end Rob Gronkowski, and running back Leonard Fournette will all become free agents as of March 17 if they do not sign contracts before then.
The Buccaneers announced earlier this week that they signed linebacker Kevin Minter to a one-year contract.
The Super Bowl victory for the Buccaneers was the first in history to feature one of the two teams playing in its home stadium. The victory came over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9.
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