Teams like NE and SEA are hugging the cap but with quality players because they aren't paying their QB's in the "elite" market, GB, DAL, BAL, etc. None of these teams will compete while paying their QB's because they lack the surrounding team talent.
SEA will soon fall to this.
NE will continue to be the most successful team, maybe ever, even after Brady is gone because our replacement won't be making money either. BB will continue to add talent at every position that is considered "mediocre", yet because EVERY position has that type of talent or better we'll continue to win.
From what I can tell, no QB has EVER won the superbowl with a cap hit higher than 15m, with Tom Brady being the highest ever at 14.8, which is a "low quality franchise QB" type salary.
Brady isn't going to get another big money contract at his age and considering his past, he probably wouldn't take market value either. Our replacement certainly won't be making 20m/yr right out of the gate. We're in a special territory.