The biggest New England Patriots news this Monday is the development that Tom Brady has signed an extension with the Patriots through 2019.
Tom Brady and Patriots reached agreement on 2-year contract extension, tying him to NE through 2019, league sources told @diannaESPN and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 29, 2016
Tom Brady turns 39 in August, so his new, agreed-to, 2-year extension gives him chance to play in New England until he's 42 years old.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 29, 2016
If/when Brady plays entirety of new deal, he’d become 4th player in NFL to play 20 or more seasons with same team (Slater, Green, Hanson).
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 29, 2016
Let’s say Brady plays the entirety of this deal and retires at age 42. If that happens, he will have played 20 years in the NFL, or nearly half of his life. Half.
Looking at the present, you have to wonder if this move makes Jimmy Garoppolo more expendable than he was this time yesterday. For further analysis of a possible Garoppolo trade, see what Jaydeen Allen had to say this afternoon.
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The financial details of the extension are not yet known, but before the deal, we knew that Brady was set to earn $9 million in 2016 and $10 million in 2017. Considering how willing Brady has been to take pay cuts in the past, you can bet that this extension benefits the Patriots’ salary cap room.
Brady knows that he can’t win another Super Bowl ring on his own. With major defensive players Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower, Chandler Jones and Malcolm Butler hitting the open market in 2017, the Patriots need to plan ahead if they want to retain those core contributors. Extending Brady was a good first step.
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The AFC East hasn’t seen the last of Brady, that’s for sure.