Next season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will enter his 22nd year in the NFL and looks like he’s not slowing down as he tries to win his 8th Super Bowl ring. The 43-year-old Brady recently signed a four-year contract extension that is essentially a one-year contract extension that will allow him to fulfill his goal of playing until he’s 45 years old. During an interview with James in a video series from watch company IWC Schaffhausen, Brady spoke about what keeps him going despite his countless on-field achievements, like winning seven Super Bowl rings in his Hall-of-Fame bound career.
“I think it’s a real love for what I’m doing,” Brady said, per transcription from the interview’s YouTube video. Brady said he does not consider football as a job, saying it’s a true love and he fell in love with what he’s doing a long time ago. “Why take away one of the great loves of your life just arbitrarily to go do other things when maybe not the timing is right?” he stressed. The veteran quarterback said the love for what he’s doing and the “willingness to continue to learn and to improve is really what’s most enjoyable.”
Brady recently agreed to a contract extension to give the Buccaneers enough salary cap room to bring back several key players as they try to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
The move allowed the Buccaneers to ink edge rusher Shaquil Barrett, linebacker Lavonte David, kicker Ryan Succop, tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches and guard Aaron Stinnie to fresh deals. Also, the Buccaneers used the franchise tag on top wide receiver Chris Godwin, keeping his tandem with Mike Evans going.
Bucs sign offensive tackle to extension
The Buccaneers also on Wednesday signed offensive tackle Donovan Smith to a two-year, $31.8 million contract extension through 2023, including $30 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. According to Patra, Smith will earn $14.25 million on the final year of his contract while the fresh extension will create a $10.6 million cap hit for the Buccaneers in 2021.
Smith was effective as Brady’s blindside protector, helping the veteran quarterback tally 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns in 16 regular-season games and 1,061 passing yards and ten touchdowns in the postseason.
Bucs keep veteran Ndamukong Suh
According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, the Buccaneers also signed veteran defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a one-year deal worth $9 million. The 33-year-old Suh was a vital cog in the Buccaneers’ outstanding defense last season, starting all 16 games for the team. Last season, Suh tallied six sacks – his most since 2015 -- on top of 19 quarterback hits and 44 tackles, including nine for loss.
