Tom Brady officially filed his retirement papers with the NFL and NFLPA on Friday, bringing to an end one of the greatest careers in football history.
While Brady may be sunsetting, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will still have to deal with the impact of his retirement. That means eating a dead cap hit of roughly $35 million in 2023 and leaving the team nearly $60 million over the cap.
Tom Brady’s official retirement means the Bucs will take the full $35 million in dead money from his old contract against this year’s salary cap. Makes for much less cap flexibility now, but puts them in better shape for 2024.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) February 10, 2023
Had Brady agreed to a contract amendment with the Buccaneers, which would have included “voidable years” and a retirement filing post-June 1, it would have allowed them to split the dead cap between 2023 and 2024. Instead, Tampa Bay will take the big hit this year and find themselves in much better cap shape next year.
Technically, Brady could still unretire and subsequently agree to such an amendment, but it’s hard to envision that scenario playing out. Brady insists he’s done with the game “for good” and it’s unlikely he’d willingly or unwillingly open the door to a second potential return.
Given their negative cap situation, the Buccaneers now have to wade uncertain waters. They’ll need to make several difficult decisions on possible cuts and contract restructures, while being very selective in free agency. It also likely means they’ll have to go into the 2023 regular season with either Blaine Gabbert or Kyle Trask under center.
