- PREMIUM
- HOME
- NFL
Popular Pages
Transactions
Trending Players
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
- NBA
Popular Pages
Transactions
Trending Players
Southeast
Atlantic
Southwest
Northwest
- MLB
Popular Pages
Transactions
Trending Players
AL East
AL Central
NL West
NL East
- NHL
Popular Pages
Transactions
Trending Players
Atlantic
Pacific
- WNBA
Popular Pages
Transactions
Trending Players
Eastern
- EPL
Popular Pages
Transactions
Trending Players
- MLS
Transactions
Trending Players
Eastern
- ATL Atlanta UnitedAtlanta United FC
- MTL MontrealCF Montreal
- CLT CharlotteCharlotte FC
- CHI FireChicago Fire
- CLB Columbus CrewColumbus Crew
- DC UnitedD.C. United
- CIN CincinnatiFC Cincinnati
- MIA Inter MiamiInter Miami FC
- NSH NashvilleNashville SC
- NE RevolutionNew England Revolution
- NYC New York CityNew York City FC
- RBNY Red BullsNew York Red Bulls
- ORL Orlando CityOrlando City
- PHI UnionPhiladelphia Union
- TOR TorontoToronto FC
Western
- ATX AustinAustin FC
- COL RapidsColorado Rapids
- DAL DallasFC Dallas
- HOU DynamoHouston Dynamo
- LA GalaxyLA Galaxy
- LAFC Los AngelesLos Angeles FC
- MIN MinnesotaMinnesota United FC
- POR TimbersPortland Timbers
- RSL Real Salt LakeReal Salt Lake
- SJ EarthquakesSan Jose Earthquakes
- SEA SoundersSeattle Sounders FC
- SKC Kansas CitySporting Kansas City
- STL St. Louis CITYSt. Louis CITY SC
- VAN WhitecapsVancouver Whitecaps FC
- NWSL
Popular Pages
Transactions
Trending Players
- ACFC Angel City FCAngel City FC
- BFC Bay FCBay FC
- CHI Chicago Red StarsChicago Red Stars
- HOU Houston DashHouston Dash
- KC Kansas City CurrentKansas City Current
- NJNY NJ/NY Gotham FCNJ/NY Gotham FC
- NC North Carolina CourageNorth Carolina Courage
- ORL Orlando PrideOrlando Pride
- POR Portland Thorns FCPortland Thorns FC
- LOU Racing Louisville FCRacing Louisville FC
- SD San Diego Wave FCSan Diego Wave FC
- RGN Seattle Reign FCSeattle Reign FC
- UTA Utah Royals FCUtah Royals FC
- WAS Washington SpiritWashington Spirit
- GOLF
Popular Pages
Trending Players
- TENNIS
ATP
WTA
- RACING
NASCAR CUP
FORMULA 1
- OLYMPICS
Understanding the Financial Ramifications of Tom Brady’s Retirement
Current Contract
Tom Brady’s contract has 1 year, $27.2M cash left, including a $20.2M cap figure for 2022. This includes an $8.925M base salary & $1.4M roster bonus, neither of which will be paid out now. It also includes $15M of signing bonus that was deferred from March 2021 to February 4th. We’ll get to this more in a moment.
Dead Cap Scenario
Brady’s contract carries $32M of dead cap for 2022, all of which would hit the Buccaneers cap table if the retirement is processed before June 1st. As this represents $12M of lost cap, this seems unlikely.
The most likely path forward is likely an immediate restructure to the remaining cash portion of this contract, reducing the base salary from $8.925M to $1.12M, removing the $1.4M roster bonus, and eliminating the $1.875M of likely to be earned incentives. This drops the cap figure from $20.2M, down to $9.12M. The Buccaneers will carry this cap hit on their active roster until June 1st, after which they can place Brady on the reserve/retired list.
By waiting until June, the Buccaneers will allow the $32M of dead cap to split up much more favorably across 2022 & 2023, to the tune of:
2022: $8M
2023: $24M
While the $24M dead cap hit for 2023 seems large (and it is), the NFL League Salary Cap is expected to rise immensely next season (and beyond) thanks to a huge influx of revenue from the recently agreed to Network/Streaming contracts.
The Original Signing Bonus
The only real point of financial contention with Tom Brady retiring is the $20M signing bonus, of which Tampa Bay now has the option of recouping a maximum of $16M from. If the Buccaneers go this route, Brady would be required to pay back $4M in each of the next 4 seasons (2022-2025), with Tampa Bay getting $4M of cap relief in each following respective season.
However, as noted above, $15M of that $20M signing bonus has yet to be paid out, so there’s a path for Tampa Bay to simply not pay this out, and move forward from here.
My two cents? It’s a big chunk of change, but a $16M parting gift to Tom Brady for choosing their franchise and immediately taking them to the promise land seems like pretty good optics and business for the organization.
Career Earnings
Brady's final earnings won't be fully known until we understand how the Buccaneers will treat the signing bonus. If they recoup all $16M, the $292.9M figure currently showing on Spotrac will actually drop to $291.9M. If Tampa Bay elects to pay out the entire bonus as a gesture, his final on-field earnings will increase to $307.9M, easily the most all-time (for a minute).
CATEGORIES
- NBA 104
- NFL 70
- GOLF 47
- MLB 23
- NWSL 22
- NHL 1
AUTHORS
- Michael Ginnitti NFL, MLB
- Keith Smith NBA
- Scott Allen Contributor
- Taylor Vincent NWSL
2024 NBA Offseason Signings
Lakers and LeBron James agree to a 2 year, $103.97 million maximum free agent contract.
10 Remaining NBA Offseason Questions
Taking a look at ten remaining NBA offseason questions not that we're a couple days into the new league year.
Davis Wins Rocket Mortgage Classic
Cam Davis wins the Rocket Mortgage Classic and $1.656 million
Nuggets Trade Reggie Jackson To Charlotte To Create Tax Flexibility
Charlotte acquires Reggie Jackson and picks from Denver in exchange for cash.
Pistons Acquire Tim Hardaway Jr From Mavericks For Quentin Grimes
Detroit acquires Tim Hardaway Jr and picks from Dallas in exchange for Quentin Grimes
TRENDING PLAYERS
- 1 Buddy Hield (SG, GSW)
- 2 LeBron James (PF, LAL)
- 3 Jayson Tatum (PF, BOS)
- 4 Klay Thompson (SG, DAL)
- 5 Lauri Markkanen (PF, UTA)
TRENDING PAGES
- 1 NBA Free Agents
- 2 NBA Transactions
- 3 NBA Trade Machine
- 4 NFL Transactions
- 5 NBA Cap Tracker