Tom Brady has a habit of taking less money or restructuring his contract to help his teams be more competitive. This is why it isn’t surprising to learn that this was one of the first things the GOAT did when he changed his mind about retirement and returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tampa Bay and Brady recently agreed to a contract restructure that will help Bucs free up around $9 million in cap space. The franchise previously had one of the trickier cap situations, with just $4.4 million left under the salary cap.
Brady is now expected to earn $1.12 million in base salary this season on top of a $10.39 million bonus. However, the restructure doesn’t change the fact that the 44-year-old player is still scheduled to become a free agent next year.
The Buccaneers will probably use the extra cap space to sign their rookies from the upcoming draft and perhaps to re-sign some of their free agents that are still on the market. The name that comes to mind is tight end Rob Gronkowski, although the Pro Bowler is yet to reveal his plans for the future and whether he wants to continue playing. Tampa could also circle back to veteran defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who already indicated that he would be interested in a reunion.
