New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will enter the final season of the two-year $30 million restructured deal that pays him an average of $15 million per season. Last season, Brady earned around $15 million, excluding performance bonuses of around $5 million. However, Brady failed to meet all five categories, including top five in passer rating, top five in completion percentage, top five in yards per attempt, top five in touchdown passes and top five in passing yards.
In the 2019 season, Brady will earn around $14 million in base salary and $1 million roster bonus.
However, Brady’s deal has a cap hit for $27 million, affecting the Patriots’ space to add more key players for their Super Bowl defense. The Patriots are expected to sign the 41-year-old Brady to a contract extension before the start of the 2019 season, but per the last report from Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston, he indicated that “all is quiet on the quarterback contract front.”
Brady just 18th among QBs in terms of average salary
After winning their sixth Super Bowl trophy, the Patriots are expected to make Brady one of the highest-paid signal-callers in the NFL. Currently, Brady is 18th in terms of average salary despite his lofty status, way behind Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, who recently became the highest-paid NFL player after signing a four-year deal worth $140 million.
For a player of his stature, saying that Brady is underpaid is an understatement. Despite his accomplishments, the Patriots have yet to give him a huge contract that he deserves. The truth is, Brady has sacrificed so much financially to keep the Patriots competitive. According to Business Insider, Brady has earned around $227.2 million in salary, but he could have earned around $287.6 million if he wasn’t generous to the Patriots and gave them a hometown discount.
Brady aiming for titles, not income
In a discussion with Rich Eisen of "The Rich Eisen Show" about Wilson’s contract and if Brady would ask a huge deal from the Patriots, ESPN senior writer Ian O’Connor said Brady is a guy who’s not worried most about money as the quarterback is married to one of the highest-paid supermodels in the world in Gisele Bundchen.
“Gisele Bundchen’s dynasty is greater than his. She had a run of 15, 16, 17 years where she’s the No. 1 earning supermodel in the world,” O’Connor said.
While the amount on Wilson’s contract will enter Brady’s mind, O’Connor believes that it will not impact his negotiations for a new deal with the Patriots. “It’s not what he’s about. I think he was smart enough long ago to realize that if I rack up enough rings, I’m going to go down as the greatest quarterback in history,” O’Connor said, adding a huge contract “doesn’t drive him.”
