Report: Tom Brady, Patriots close to finalizing contract extension

Tom Brady has never played under the final year of a contract in the nearly two decades he has been with the New England Patriots, and that theme will continue this season.

ESPN’s Field Yates reports that Brady and the Patriots are close to finalizing an agreement on a contract extension.

Filed to ESPN: the Patriots and QB Tom Brady are close to finalizing an agreement on a contract extension, per league source. Should be done soon.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 4, 2019

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media added that the contract is a short-term deal, which was to be expected.

The #Patriots and QB Tom Brady have agreed to terms on a contract extension, source said. No details yet, but sounds like it’s a short term deal, as you’d expect.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 4, 2019

Brady turned 42 over the weekend, but we don’t need to explain all the ways he is different from your average 42-year-old NFL player, of which there have barely been any. He led the Patriots to yet another championship last season, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t play at a high level for another two or three years. Plus, he’s due to count $27 million against the salary cap in 2019, so the Patriots will almost certainly lower that number with his new deal.

Brady recently tried to be clever when asked questions about his contract situation, but there was never really a doubt that he and the team would work something out before Week 1.