Tom Brady remains in the active squad of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite announcing his retirement on Tuesday, February 1.
It stayed that way through Friday as no transaction was announced by the Bucs, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. NFL teams typically put a retired player on the reserve/retired list or let him go, Volin wrote.
Brady, who is contracted for 2022, could remain on the active roster until June. according to Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports. The Bucs extended Brady’s contract after the 2020 season, which included three terminateable years, according to Over The Cap.
His stay on the roster is because the Bucs are managing his contract and salary cap. The general manager of the Bucs, Jason Licht alluded to that in his Tuesday press conference after Brady will officially announce his retirement.
“It is an irrelevant question. We’ve been talking to Tom’s reps,” Licht told the media. “We have a great relationship with Don Yee and Steve Dubin and we’ve been talking about it. It is an irrelevant question and we knew that if we found ourselves in this scenario we could solve it. Also, I don’t like to talk about the contracts publicly, but we can work it out.”
Why June?
If Brady played in 2022, the Bucs would pay him $20.3 million, but an immediate reserve/retired designation would be costly for the Bucs, Benjamin said. The Bucs would lose “$32 million in salary cap — and almost $11.8 million in lost budget space,” Benjamin wrote.
If the Bucs let Brady go after June 1, the salary cap would go back to $8 million, and they would “instantly save $12.3 million,” Benjamin wrote. The Bucs their salary cap would be affected for $8 million again in 2023 but another $16 million would be saved, he added.
The Bucs could also work out a deal with Brady if the team opts to let him go. according to Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. The Dallas Cowboys did something similar with quarterback Tony Romo in 2017, Williams said.
Tampa Bay owed Brady a $15 million bonus on Friday according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who received a copy of Brady’s contract. It had nothing to do with the player’s delay in announcing his retirement, Florio wrote, because of the language of the contract. Florio also pointed out that Brady owes $16 million in unearned bonuses — something his agent and the Bucs could work out.
Will Brady follow in Romo’s footsteps?
Brady could become a commentator, as could Romo, who joined CBS Sports’ NFL broadcast team in 2017.
A source told People Magazine that Brady is responding to offers as a commentator.” wrote Charlotte Triggs and Lindsay Kimble. The source noted that “Tom wasn’t focused on reporting at all” upon leaving, Triggs and Kimble wrote.
“There are many ongoing projects. He also has crazy offers from networks that want him as a host,” the source told People Magazine.
Jason Hodes, Brady’s agent, has also received “an unprecedented number of opportunities from storytelling and streaming offers to advertising and brand deals,” according to the source via People Magazine.
Brady maintained that the main reason he decided to retire is to spend more time with his family, but fans could see him on screen if he gets the right offer.
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