Tom Brady may care more about his supporting cast in 2020 than he does about the total dollar amount the New England Patriots are willing to give him, but that’s not to say the contract itself means nothing to him. At the very least, Brady may want the Patriots to show him they believe he has multiple years of good football left to play.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic is the latest Patriots insider to discuss Brady’s impending free agency, and Howe reports that Brady is not trying to set the quarterback market with a $35 million salary. However, Brady wanted guaranteed money for 2020 last offseason when he renegotiated his contract with New England, and he may want the same with his next deal.
Brady will likely want a two-year deal that includes at least some guaranteed money for 2021, that way the Patriots aren’t telling him to once again prove he is still capable of winning games in his 40s. The problem, of course, is that Bill Belichick obviously did not want to give Brady a two-year deal a year ago, and did Brady really do anything last season to change the coach’s opinion of his aging quarterback?
While you could make the argument that Brady had very few weapons to work with on offense, he also showed that he is no longer capable of elevating his mediocre teammates the way he did earlier in his career. Brady also battled some nagging injuries that impacted his play, which is something interested teams are reportedly concerned about.
If Belichick believes Brady gives the Patriots their best chance of winning in 2020, there could be a middle ground for the two sides somewhere. Perhaps New England can offer Brady a contract that pays him a respectable amount in 2020 and 2021 while giving them salary cap flexibility to improve the roster around him. Those are the types of contracts Brady has taken throughout his entire career, and we’ve already heard rumblings about the Pats potentially making a run at a star wide receiver. It’s quite possible that Brady’s and Belichick’s interests are more aligned than many are making it seem.
