TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady has said he wants to play in the NFL until he is at least 45. He’s signed for only one more season with the Bucs.
Everybody expects that to change soon, including their general manager.
When asked if the Bucs would consider extending Brady’s contract after watching him lead Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl 55 victory over the Chiefs at age 43, Jason Licht said, “it’s a possibility.”
More likely, it’s a probability.
Brady’s final season with the Bucs right now would be 2021 and he will earn $25 million. The Bucs could easily extend his contract by at least a year, turn much of that salary into a bonus and create some much-needed cap room to retain as many of their own free agents as possible.
Certainly, Brady has shown no signs of slowing down. In his first year in Bruce Arians’ offense, he passed for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns during the regular season, then added 10 TD passes in the postseason.
“He certainly didn’t look like he slowed down any this year,” Licht said on the Rich Eisen Show.
“It appears he had a really good time this year winning the Super Bowl and likes our organization. Likes our coaches, likes our head coach and ownership and we certainly love him. Usually when you have those two things going for you, it’s a match made in heaven. So we’d like to keep this going.”
The timing for such an extension? Expect it before the new league year begins on March 17.
