Over the years there have been many great quarterbacks. Some, like Dan Marino and John Elway, were able to stay with their franchise for their entire career. Others, like Joe Montana and more recently, Peyton Manning, found themselves finishing their careers elsewhere. Tom Brady has said he wanted to play until he's at least 40, but the possibility had always existed that he would be wearing a different jersey when he reached that time, until today.
Peter King, of Sports Illustrated is reporting that the star quarterback has come to an agreement with the New England Patriots on a three-year, $27 million contract extension, taking him into the 2017 season. The reports are that he will be paid a $3 million signing bonus now, and then will make $7 million, $8 million and $9 million in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.
In working out this new deal, he is doing much the same he did the last time he worked out an extension. He is taking the hometown discount in an effort to keep the team competitive through the rest of his career, rather than trying to cash in for his own personal gain. Instead of counting $43.6 million against the cap in 2013 and 2014, he will now only count $28.6 million, giving the Patriots an extra $15 million to work with in trying to retain free agents such as Aqib Talib and Wes Welker.
If Brady can continue the level of play he's maintained for the rest of his contract, then there is no doubt he'll get at least one more shot at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for New England. And today, he made sure he's going to give the team and their fans the best shot at seeing it happen.
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