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Brady, Patriots Agree On Contract Extension
As NFL.com reported, for his 42nd birthday, Tom Brady received a special gift from the New England Patriots: A long-awaited contract extension.
The future Hall of Fame quarterback agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension with New England on Sunday, a source told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. The deal raises Brady's 2019 salary from $15 million to $23 million, Rapoport added.
Brady was set to enter the final season of a two-year restructured deal before he struck an extension with the Pats this weekend. Before the new contract was agreed to, Brady was scheduled to make $15 million and carry a $27 million cap hit in 2019. Brady has still never entered a season in the final year of his deal.
Already in uncharted territory, Brady is now under contract through 2021, his age-44 season. The quarterback has insisted for years that he would like to play until he’s at least 45 years old. This deal keeps that goal still in the realm of possibility.
Worth noting, Brady wound up throwing for 4,355 yards and 29 touchdowns en route to the usual first-round bye and a sixth Super Bowl victory last season.
But this year is different with Brady facing a major challenge following the retirement of Rob Gronkowski. ESPN.com recently pointed out that since 2010, in games without Gronk, Brady's completion rate is 7 percent worse (58.6 percent, compared to 65.7 with Gronk), he averages almost 30 fewer passing yards per game, almost a touchdown less per game and goes from averaging 20 fantasy points with Gronk to 16.3 without.
In addition to Gronkowski retiring, Chris Hogan and Cordarrelle Patterson moved on as free agents.
Neither were major contributors, but barring the return of Josh Gordon and/or the rapid development of first-round rookie WR N'Keal Harry, the Patriots will continue leaning heavily on Julian Edelman and an assortment of pedestrian talent.
All of this will keep Brady from being viewed as a front-line fantasy QB, and rightly so. He's steady and reliable, but Brady is no longer a high-end starter.