Tom Brady contract: How much will the Buccaneers QB earn in 2022 and how much has he made in his career
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Tom Brady
With Tom Brady announcing his shock return to the NFL, that leads many to wonder what will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do with his contract.
Tom Brady leads the NFL in career passing yards, touchdowns, and completions. Along with that, he also has the 7 Super Bowl wins to his name, of course, that’s more than any other player in history but also, more than any other FRANCHISE ever. He’s well and truly the GOAT. However, he hasn’t always been paid as such.
We’ll take a look through the contracts of Tom Brady throughout the years, starting with the first Patriots Dynasty all the way to his Buccaneers Super Bowl win.
Contract #1(2000): Tom Brady during the first Patriots Dynasty
When Tom Brady was drafted with the infamous pick #199 in the 2000 draft, he signed a three-year rookie contract that had a base salary of just $193K. Quite a modest amount when compared to the rookie salaries of today. It famously allowed him to buy a Jeep Wrangler and afford a condo in Marina Bay. Still, it was something, and Brady at the time was just stoked that he didn’t have to figure out what he had to do for the rest of his life.
The total value of the contract was 3-years, $864K with a signing bonus of $38,400.
Brady played his rookie season in 2000 as well as 2001 on the contract and of course, led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl win in 2001 which lead to him getting a new extension.
Contract #2(2002): Tom Brady gets paid for his Super Bowl win
After his triumph in Super Bowl XXXVI, Tom Brady received a new contract in which he finally got paid like an NFL quarterback. It was a 5-year deal that was supposed to last through till 2006 and signed in August of 2002. The total value of the contract was $30.52 million with a $10 million signing bonus.
Along with the lofty pay, there were numerous incentives for Brady in this contract like $250K for a conference title win and an additional $250K for a Super Bowl win. Brady cashed in on these as he led the Pats to 2 more Super Bowl wins in 2003 and 2004. Doing so granted him $1 million in incentives.
The Patriots certainly knew what they were doing in terms of Brady’s contract as his base salary was $375K in 2002 but it jumped up to $3.1 million in 2003 and steadily increased to $6 million by 2006. Along with that, New England moved around the numbers to alter the cap hit.
This deal was certainly more representative of what a QB should be paid but, it still was quite the bargain considering the Patriots gave Drew Bledsoe, who they thought would be the franchise QB, a 10-year $103 million deal. After Brady’s second consecutive Super Bowl win, he signed a new deal in 2005.
Contract #3(2005): Tom Brady once again gets paid big-time for being a 3-time Super Bowl winner
This new deal came off the back of the historic Super Bowl XXXIX win where Tom Brady solidified the New England Patriots as a dynasty in the NFL. There are not many franchises that can say they’ve won 3 Super Bowls, let alone in 3 in 4 years. Tom Brady was a big reason for that and as such, was rewarded with a new contract.
This new deal was a 6-year, $60 million contract with a $26.5 million signing bonus. Still, Brady wasn’t getting record deals as Peyton Manning at the time had a 7-year $98 million deal with $34.5 million in guaranteed money. There were some issues while getting this contract signed.
The Patriots wanted the signing bonus to be paid in 4 installments with more than half of it coming in the first 2 seasons. But, the unpaid remaining money would not be guaranteed if Brady were to get injured and couldn’t keep playing.
Ultimately the 2 sides came to an agreement and things went along smoothly but for the first time in his carer, Tom Brady would lose a Super Bowl, pushing his next contract to 2010.
Contract #4(2010): Tom Brady gets a new contract because of a…car crash?
2010 was Brady’s last year under contract and the Patriots certainly wanted to get him signed up before he could go to free agency. As such, they looked to wrap this deal up before the start of the regular season. Ultimately, it was the Patriots owner Robert Kraft who had a car crash that made him realize the fragility of things to get the contract signed. Not your ordinary story.
Regardless of how it happened, Tom Brady finally got his gigantic quarterback contract that we’ve all gotten used to. It was a 4-year $72 million extension with a guaranteed signing bonus of $48.5 million. It was the biggest contract in the NFL, albeit not for very long, as well as a record amount for guaranteed money in the NFL.
It took Brady 10 seasons to finally be the highest-paid player in the NFL but, it would be the only time that he would hold that title as from here on, he started taking team-friendly deals.
Contract #5(2013): The infamous Tom Brady ‘pay cut’
This is where Tom Brady differs from just about every other quarterback and could very well be the reason he is a 7 time Super Bowl champion. After putting up an MVP season in 2010 and leading his team to the Super Bowl in 2011 and then an AFC Championship in 2012, Brady had every right to ask for more money. Instead, he gave the Patriots a huge break.
Brady’s new deal was a 3-year $27 million extension on what he signed in 2010 allowing for $33 million in guaranteed money. For reference, Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees all had a cap hit of over $17 million with Eli Manning having one of $20 million. Brady’s was just $13.8 million.
This is the time when the Patriots and Tom Brady worked extremely well together as he was willing to not be paid the highest money to help the team out. He saved them $8 million in cap room in 2013 and $7 million in 2014. Brady wanted the team to have the ability to re-sign Wes Welker but he ultimately chose free agency.
Over the next few years, Brady’s salary would go up to $15 million. Owner Robert Kraft was quoted saying at the time “If we were going to have to pay him elite-quarterback money and have elite-quarterback cap numbers, I just didn’t think we would be able to build a team. We don’t want to have a team where we’re paying 18 to 20 percent to a player on the cap.”
Contract #6(2016): Tom Brady takes another team friendly deal
This contract may have proved to be the most beneficial at the time. Tom Brady was already a future first-ballot Hall of Famer at this point but he took another deal that helped out the Patriots and as a result, he took them to 3 more Super Bowls, winning 2 of them taking their total to 6.
This deal was a 2-year extension on the previous one he signed that totaled $41 million with a signing bonus of $28 million. This deal was supposed to run through 2019 but the Patriots had just drafted Jimmy Garoppolo who they figured would be Brady’s replacement if the decline were to happen. To be fair to them, Brady was 39 at the time.
They added $1 million in team options just in case Garoppolo took over the reins from Brady which gave them an out from the contract. Of course, we all know how this one played out as Jimmy G is now trying to find a starting spot somewhere in the league.
Contract #7(2019): Tom Brady’s last contract with the Patriots
This contract is probably the most confusing of the bunch. Brady’s deal was set to expire after the 2019 season. As such he wanted to see what the Patriots had in store for him. Well, what they had was a confusing restructure that was presented as an extension.
It was called a 1-year $23 million extension with an $8 million signing bonus but in reality, it was a bit different. Brady was on a $14 million salary at the time and the Patriots cut it down to $1.75 million for 2019 and converted the rest to a $20 million signing bonus that could be split over the 2019, 2020, and 2021 seasons.
What’s odder is the fact that the contract was set to void in 2020 meaning it’s only an extension in name value. Supposedly this didn’t sit well with Brady as he requested for a clause that meant the team couldn’t place the franchise or transition tag on him resulting in him being a free agent for 2020. We all know what happened after that.
Contract #8(2020): Tom Brady takes his talents to Tampa Bay
After 20 illustrious seasons in New England which included 6 Super Bowl titles, Tom Brady was a free agent for the first time in his career. And, he elected to head down south and join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The contract Brady signed in 2020 was a 2-year $50 million deal. The Bucs did things a little bit differently in terms of signing bonus, however. Brady’s base salary was set to be $15 million with a $10 million roster bonus for both years. When he was paid his 2020 roster bonus, his 2021 bonus became guaranteed so, really it’s a $20 million signing bonus.
Brady went on to win Super Bowl LV in his first season with the Buccaneers which prompted a new extension that is quite similar to what he signed with the Patriots in 2019.
Contract #9(2021): Another void contract for Tom Brady
After winning the Super Bowl in his first season, Brady signed a new contract that somewhat resembles his final contract in New England. What’s certain about it is that Brady finally got paid like a top-tier QB with some adjustments by the Buccaneers.
The contract was a 4-year extension that would be voided after 2 seasons worth $50 million. The huge impact of this is that he will be making $41.075 million in 2021 due to him taking a large portion of his signing bonus in 2021.
It seemed that both Brady and the Bucs had an idea that it’d be possible he would retire after the 2021 season which of course he did do. But, now that he’s back, what does this mean for 2022 and beyond?
What are Tom Brady’s options for 2022 and beyond?
Well, for 2022, Brady doesn’t really have any options. He’s locked in with the Buccaneers for this year at least. Some speculated that he retired to try and force their hand in allowing him to go somewhere else to finish his career but he’s a Buccaneer for this season. He’ll be making the remaining $8.925 million this season of his extension last year.
The fact that there were void years means that if Brady doesn’t call it quits for real after 2022 and the Buccaneers don’t sign him to a new deal, he will once again be a free agent. Depending on how he plays this year, he could have a lot of teams after him. Only time will tell if the GOAT wishes to play somewhere else.
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Roshan Anand
(278 Articles Published)