Hypothetical big F-U to the NFL and Goodell: Brady taking vet minimum

TBR · Feb 18, 2016

I'll preface this by saying this is something Brady could do for the team, not something he necessarily should. He's already been incredibly selfless and generous throughout his career in regards to his salary and shouldn't be expected by anyone to take even less than he already has. No matter how many hundreds of millions he and his wife have combined, it's still a lot of money to leave on the table.

Think about it. If Brady was somehow willing to take yet another paycut, this time for the vet minimum... According to Miguel, that would create an additional $8.15 million in cap space: twitter.com/patscap/status/700149285698994176

That additional $8m, while not a perfect remedy for the lost draft picks, would help minimize it tremendously.

The Pats could sign a big difference maker(s) with that extra leeway (and likely contribute immediately)

It would be a huge F-U to Goodell, the owners and a lot of the league who currently LOVE the fact the Pats lost a 1st rounder and still hope to see Brady suspended for 4 games.

Tunescribe · Feb 18, 2016

I love this idea. Although, it would require outside-the-box thinking particularly on Tom's behalf.

Fencer · Feb 18, 2016

The league would immediate investigate the Pats for salary cap circumvention via other parts of the relationship.

In fact, they'd skip the investigation and punish the Pats for circumvention just for the contract itself, even though there are no rules against it. After all, they did that to the Redskins and Cowboys when they did something advantageous but legal -- and Kraft is the one who pressured Jones into accepting the unfair penalty.

VectorPrime · Feb 18, 2016

This would be a slap in the face to the Players Association that is going balls to the wall to defend his name in court.

supafly · Feb 18, 2016

Tunescribe said:
I love this idea. Although, it would require outside-the-box thinking particularly on Tom's behalf.

I think we've gotten as much out of the box thinking from Brady re: his pact as we're going to get. For some reason, the fact that he compromised with a lesser AAV, yet still got an insane amount of guaranteed money still seems to go unnoticed by many posters. It was a win-win for both sides.

Making the assumption that Brady would not only be willing to lessen his salary, but take the veteran minimum seems borderline insane to me, although I certainly agree with you that "I love this idea."

AzorianPats · Feb 18, 2016

TBR said:
I'll preface this by saying this is something Brady could do for the team, not something he necessarily should. He's already been incredibly selfless and generous throughout his career in regards to his salary and shouldn't be expected by anyone to take even less than he already has. No matter how many hundreds of millions he and his wife have combined, it's still a lot of money to leave on the table.

Think about it. If Brady was somehow willing to take yet another paycut, this time for the vet minimum... According to Miguel, that would create an additional $8.15 million in cap space: twitter.com/patscap/status/700149285698994176

That additional $8m, while not a perfect remedy for the lost draft picks, would help minimize it tremendously.

The Pats could sign a big difference maker(s) with that extra leeway (and likely contribute immediately)

It would be a huge F-U to Goodell, the owners and a lot of the league who currently LOVE the fact the Pats lost a 1st rounder and still hope to see Brady suspended for 4 games.

Only way that happens is right after Brady puts his pen to paper and sings the contract, Kraft builds a TB12 avocado ice cream shop over on Patriots Place.

That plus all of a sudden Brady and Giselle get their hands on another huge plot of land in Brookline..

Husse · Feb 18, 2016

I think Brady taking vet minimun while still at the level he is playing at would just be a boon for the NFL front office. They can accuse, investigate and probably punish the Patriots. Even if they don't the owners can then also use Brady's cap number as a bargaining point in negotiations with other players driving wages down for it's star players. NFLPA is not gonna like that.

And also, the NFL can then earn a lot of money from Brady merchandise and even less of a fraction will go to Brady himself, so they get what they want anyway, money.

IcyPatriot · Feb 18, 2016

Patsfanin Philly · Feb 18, 2016

VectorPrime said:
This would be a slap in the face to the Players Association that is going balls to the wall to defend his name in court.

At first blush, I agree but that money would simply be going to other players, assuming the Patriots spend to the cap. So while it hurts Brady and maybe QB franchise numbers ( is he even top 5??) the money he is foregoing is being redistributed to other players whether top tier or at the other end of the roster...
From the NFLPA perspective, while it hurts one high profile player, it benefits multiple other players who can receive more since the pie has a bigger share for them...

RobertWeathers · Feb 18, 2016

VectorPrime said:
This would be a slap in the face to the Players Association that is going balls to the wall to defend his name in court.

Yea the whole premise of the NFLPA is to ensure the players have an opportunity to maximize their earning potential. By Tom doing that for a franchise he undermines their purpose.

BTTA · Feb 18, 2016

Patsfanin Philly said:
At first blush, I agree but that money would simply be going to other players, assuming the Patriots spend to the cap. So while it hurts Brady and maybe QB franchise numbers ( is he even top 5??) the money he is foregoing is being redistributed to other players whether top tier or at the other end of the roster...
From the NFLPA perspective, while it hurts one high profile player, it benefits multiple other players who can receive more since the pie has a bigger share for them...

Yes, except the NFLPA doesn't think this way. They are very concerned with the big money vets, and keeping those salary averages high, and much less concerned with the guys who are at the bottom of the roster and/or only in the League for a year or two. They simply won't allow the star players to do something like what is proposed in this thread.

borg · Feb 18, 2016

I'd rather see Solder (injury prone), Cannon (sux / likely cut), Lafell (sux /cut possibility), and even McCourty (leverage got him big $$$, not necessarily his production) give salary back.
All I want from TB12 is a brutally honest press conference after he wins his appeal......ripping Goodell, Wells, the JESTcentric league officials, the NFL, and ESPN.

patsbrasilpatriotas · Feb 18, 2016

I dont see him taking a paycut now but i can see him doing it in 2018 and 2019. Then retiring.

Hammer of Thor · Feb 18, 2016

Yeah, I can imagine Tom Brady's thinking right now....

"I'm completely peeved over what the NFL has done to me! I'm going to take them for nothing that they've got!"

patsbrasilpatriotas · Feb 18, 2016

Husse said:
I think Brady taking vet minimun while still at the level he is playing at would just be a boon for the NFL front office. They can accuse, investigate and probably punish the Patriots. Even if they don't the owners can then also use Brady's cap number as a bargaining point in negotiations with other players driving wages down for it's star players. NFLPA is not gonna like that.

And also, the NFL can then earn a lot of money from Brady merchandise and even less of a fraction will go to Brady himself, so they get what they want anyway, money.

So he cant take less money but it isnt fair? He, Kraft and BB can do whatever they want. He is a grown man, rich.

´´ I want to take less money to play with better players, my wife dont have a salary cap and im rich enough``, how can they punish him or the Patriots for that?

RobertWeathers · Feb 18, 2016

He can take the vet minimum if in turn he is provided equity in the team.

Not sure what the bylaws are and if that is allowed...?

Sfpat · Feb 18, 2016

I could see him doing this after he deposits the check from the league after winning his defamation suit

Tunescribe · Feb 18, 2016

IcyPatriot said:

ivanvamp · Feb 18, 2016

VectorPrime said:
This would be a slap in the face to the Players Association that is going balls to the wall to defend his name in court.

Why? Brady is simply allowing other players to get more money. He already isn't setting the market for QBs, so it's not like the next really good QB seeking a deal would in any way be impacted by Brady reducing his salary. In fact, it may actually raise the bar for other positions.

patsbrasilpatriotas · Feb 18, 2016

ivanvamp said:
Why? Brady is simply allowing other players to get more money. He already isn't setting the market for QBs, so it's not like the next really good QB seeking a deal would in any way be impacted by Brady reducing his salary. In fact, it may actually raise the bar for other positions.

Even if he was going to set the market, He is willing to take less money so what? How can the NFL say that Brady or any player is worth X. So all players taking ´´hometown`` discounts are cheating. The same league that doesnt give us back the cap for a DEAD player.

Hypothetical big F-U to the NFL and Goodell: Brady taking vet minimum

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