TAMPA, Fla. -- Quarterback Tom Brady has signed a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the group announced Friday.
While the Bucs did not reveal any details, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that it is a four-year contract extension that voids to a one-year expansion. The bargain ties Brady into Tampa throughout the 2022 season, sources said.
The move saves the Buccaneers $19 million from the salary cap this year, sources said. The additional voidable years are there to defray the price. It was another attempt from Brady to keep up to this group collectively as possible.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Brady said he's prepared to chase his eighth Super Bowl win.
"When we obtained Tom a year ago, we're extremely enthusiastic about the direction, poise and winning track record he would bring into our locker room. Since that moment, he has proven himself to be the greatest competitor and delivered in every way we'd imagined, helping us catch the Lombardi Trophy," Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht stated in a statement Friday. "Year after year, Tom demonstrates that he remains one of the elite quarterbacks in this game and we could not be happier to maintain him in Tampa Bay as we continue to pursue our goals together."
As of Friday morning, before Brady's new bargain, the Bucs were $7.756 million on the $182.5 million dollar cap, following using the franchise tag on wide receiver Chris Godwin and re-signing inside linebacker Lavonte David into a two-year extension.
Much like Brady's bargain, David's contract consists of voidable years, something that the Bucs have not used in well over ten years. David will count only $3.5 million against the salary cap in 2021, despite playing a two-year deal worth $25 million, since his contract comprises three voidable decades. The disadvantage to doing voidable decades is the Bucs will essentially be borrowing from the future. But they recognize that Brady's window is modest, even with an extra year on which was initially a two-year contract.
"Tom is one of the guys that knows that it takes a whole village to win," David said Friday. "It requires a group, a bunch of men, to win football games. Me, the identical thing. I am all about staff. And I will do what I will, do what is needed to hopefully get everyone back and go do this thing . ... The bond which we had, the bond we shared this season -- it was like no other"
But Barrett is not the only one the Bucs have to think about.
In February, Licht explained that he and coach Bruce Arians will be"elated" when they could extend Brady.
Brady, 43, had stated that his goal was to play until age 45, but he said during the week of the Super Bowl he would now think about playing beyond 45. Brady will be 44 next year, and tacking on a year to his deal keeps him through his 45th birthday. Family will play a major part in determining if, in fact, Brady plays beyond that.
In his first year with the Buccaneers, Brady won his seventh Super Bowl title, beating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 at Tampa in the first Super Bowl to include a team playing at its home arena. He's the initial Bucs quarterback ever to sign a second contract with the team.
Minter was the team's 2020 special-teams captain along with a essential backup for Tampa Bay. He stepped in for Devin White when White has been set on the reserve/COVID-19 list in Week 17, finishing with 13 tackles. Minter also began in White's place at the Bucs' wild-card win at Washington.
Minter's agreement was first reported by NFL Network.
