Brady may have the highest cap number ever

[Miguel]

for a player in a single season.

In this ESPN.Com article
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2511045
John Clayton wrote that "Brady has a $15.67 million cap hit." In order for that to be true, Brady must have $1,750,000 in a previously unannounced LTBE incentive or roster bonus in his contract.

On January 22nd the Boston Globe reported that Brady's 2006 cap number was $14.42 million.
See
http://www.patscap.com/globestatusreport.pdf
That number presumed that Brady's $12 million option bonus was being prorated over 4 years.

With the CBA being extended the option bonus could now be prorated over 5 years lowering Brady's 2006 cap number by $600,000 making it $13,823,750.

For Brady's 2006 cap number to be $15.67 million, the NFL must have concluded sometime after April that what Brady did in 2005 either changed $1.75 million of incentives in his contract from NTLBE to LTBE or earned Brady a $1.75 million roster bonus.

See
http://www.patscap.com/bradysdeal.gif
for my take on Brady's changing 2006 cap number.

It is likely that Brady will hold this title for just one year as Manning's 2007 number is 16,533,333 and I would not be surprised if Manning plays the 2007 season with that cap number.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I can't seem to access your revised Brady cap gif page. If there were an incentive that substantial would it not have been mentioned in Cafardo's perusing the contract piece last season? Any chance this is a result of the team choosing to convert a portion of that Option bonus to roster bonus to absorb a bigger hit on Brady this season as we assume they will do with Seymour?

It's also possible that in an opinion piece where his horseshoe admiration was showing John's abacus suddenly malfunctioned in a way that made Peymeaton look like the bargain choice that suited his musings.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Hehehe. Who says the Pats are cheap? They'll a player if they feel he's worth it. But he's gotta be special.

 

[Miguel]

I can't seem to access your revised Brady cap gif page.

You should now be able to do so now.

 

[Miguel]

It's also possible that in an opinion piece where his horseshoe admiration was showing John's abacus suddenly malfunctioned in a way that made Peymeaton look like the bargain choice that suited his musings.

which is why I wrote "may"

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Even in the context of a $60M deal a $1.75M potential bump isn't chump change. John's access to financials aside I'd want to know why I'm changing something before I changed it. Even if there had been some context within his reference like a comment that this was "Brady's cap number which has recently increased to ...".

I know they had to do some tap dancing to get Tommy's deal to fit under the expiring CBA parameters. So is Adam on vacation???? He usually picks up these discussions on his radar and chimes in with the skinny.

 

[I'm Ron Borges?]

So much for the "Brady took less money to play here" fallacy that some Patriots fans believe. I don't mind Brady getting paid because I think he's the best player in the NFL but I hate it when I hear Patriots fans say he took less money to stay in New England. That simply isn't true.

 

[NE39]

So much for the "Brady took less money to play here" fallacy that some Patriots fans believe. I don't mind Brady getting paid because I think he's the best player in the NFL but I hate it when I hear Patriots fans say he took less money to stay in New England. That simply isn't true.

He did, although he isn't suffering. He could have received more money if he waited, and he didn't insist on being the highest paid player, which he could have.

You can't confuse his cap number with what he actually earns. One reason his cap number is so high this year is because it contains monies charged off from his last contract, which the Pats chose to spread out on the cap.

His cap number actually goes down in future years. How the Pats choose to structure it is likely by plan, but in terms of what he is actually getting paid he left some money on the table.

Granted, that doesn't mean he is underpaid by any means, his contract is fair. However, he could have tried to hold out for every last dollar, and if he did he would probably ultimately earn more. The fact he didn't do it doesn't qualify him for sainthood or anything, but he did do it.

 

[flutie2phelan]

If what we think will happen to Seymour's contract ... and what we might suspect has happened
to Brady's contract ... is true ... then,
by using this first, "spike" year of the new CBA to absorb the big guys' cap hits
... the Patriots should be set up to emerge as big players in free agency for 2 or 3 years to come.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

So much for the "Brady took less money to play here" fallacy that some Patriots fans believe. I don't mind Brady getting paid because I think he's the best player in the NFL but I hate it when I hear Patriots fans say he took less money to stay in New England. That simply isn't true.

That's spoken like your namesake...WronG. Brady's deal averages around $3-4M less over the entire term of the deal than Manning or Palmer or Vick. Manning's signing bonus was $34.5M vs. Brady's $26.5M including option bonus. Brady's take home in the first three years (which is how most contracts are assessed for value) is $37.5M (or $39M if this possible LTBE isn't just a redistribution of cap charges). Mannings three year take is $45M.

Which is why Clayton's silly best team cap money can buy premise was such nonsense. He'd lose half that team next season when many of them see their cap # explode. Polian has taken the approach with Peyton's contract of posponing as much of his cap hit as possible in the first three seasons via amortization of his bonus money including the $19M in roster bonuses he will receive between this year and next. Eventually something will have to be done about that or Peyton's cap #'s jump to the $17-21M range in the last 3 years of his current deal. Brady's cap #'s will never be higher and average around $12M until they bottom out at $6.5M in 2010 when the cap will be around $125M.

This year's cap # for Brady could easily be lowered by $3M+ if the team wanted to - they seem to be positioning themselves to take advantage of the one time cap windfall instead by absorbing a larger portion of the cap hits for their two highest paid players - Brady and Seymour, and that will pay cap space dividends going forward.

Brady indeed took less to extend here than he could have made as a FA in 2007. You don't think Daniel Snyder would have jumped at the chance to pay Brady $20M per when the one position his 'Skins haven't yet been able to buy in FA is franchise QB?

 

[patchick]

He did, although he isn't suffering. He could have received more money if he waited, and he didn't insist on being the highest paid player, which he could have.

You can't confuse his cap number with what he actually earns. One reason his cap number is so high this year is because it contains monies charged off from his last contract, which the Pats chose to spread out on the cap.

His cap number actually goes down in future years. How the Pats choose to structure it is likely by plan, but in terms of what he is actually getting paid he left some money on the table.

Granted, that doesn't mean he is underpaid by any means, his contract is fair. However, he could have tried to hold out for every last dollar, and if he did he would probably ultimately earn more. The fact he didn't do it doesn't qualify him for sainthood or anything, but he did do it.

This is well put. Brady does make a truckload of money, he's no martyr by any means. But he probably could make an extra half a truckload if he were determined to eke out every last dollar from his contracts. The fact that he doesn't makes him both a team player and, I suspect, a canny businessman with an eye to the long term. Sticking with one highly successful team and not complaining or creating controversy helps make him one of the most marketable sports stars in the world. (Plus good luck in politics if you've ever publicly whined about feeding your family on only $X-million a year.)

On the Patriots side, a huge cap hit accruing to 2006 is exactly what you want. This is the cap windfall year, where old contracts haven't caught up to new-CBA dollars. As I understand it, Seymour and Brady both will end up taking tons of cap space this year, with more manageable numbers in future years. Works for me.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

OK. Brady's making a boatload of money. Maybe it's less than he could have gotten, maybe not. Maybe it's the biggest cap number of all time, maybe not. Maybe Payme's hit will be higher next year, maybe not.

Definitely time for Training Camp to begin.

 

[JoeSixPat]

So much for the "Brady took less money to play here" fallacy that some Patriots fans believe. I don't mind Brady getting paid because I think he's the best player in the NFL but I hate it when I hear Patriots fans say he took less money to stay in New England. That simply isn't true.

Shall we discuss the difference between the cap hit each year and the total value of a contract?

Just because the cap value is the highest this year doens't mean its the most lucrative contract in football. You either don't understand this or are using this as a Red Herring in an attempt to prove a point.

In the end Brady's contract might be just as lucrative as Manning's. If that's the case, I'd say Brady definately took less than he could have received on the open market, considering his 3 SB rings, and overall impressive playoff and regular season record compared to Manning's lack of all of the above.

But as far as this year's cap, I'm inclined to agree with MoLewisRocks that there's a good chance the team decides to use some cap availability this year to set themselves up nicely in the future, when other teams are suffering the hangovers from their 2006 free agent CBA drunken spending spree.

 

[Yankees/Colts]

In the end Brady's contract might be just as lucrative as Manning's. If that's the case, I'd say Brady definately took less than he could have received on the open market, considering his 3 SB rings, and overall impressive playoff and regular season record compared to Manning's lack of all of the above.

Peyton Manning is a superstar. Take Brady from the Patriots and he wouldn't enjoy the same success elsewhere trying to game manage for a lesser team and coach. Manning would be a superstar anywhere. I doubt Brady would get as much as Manning on the open market.

The whole "Brady is a saint for taking less money" was a nice PR move.

 

[Willie55]

Peyton Manning is a superstar. Take Brady from the Patriots and he wouldn't enjoy the same success elsewhere trying to game manage for a lesser team and coach. Manning would be a superstar anywhere. I doubt Brady would get as much as Manning on the open market.

The whole "Brady is a saint for taking less money" was a nice PR move.

:blahblah: :blahblah: :blahblah:

 

[coltshater]

Peyton Manning is a superstar. Take Brady from the Patriots and he wouldn't enjoy the same success elsewhere trying to game manage for a lesser team and coach. Manning would be a superstar anywhere. I doubt Brady would get as much as Manning on the open market.

The whole "Brady is a saint for taking less money" was a nice PR move.

What is your purpose here? Why aren't you a Jets/Giants fan?

You must stop watching the Colts games when the regular season ends, because you seem to have no recollection of the annual Manning choke during the playoffs.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Peyton Manning is a superstar. Take Brady from the Patriots and he wouldn't enjoy the same success elsewhere trying to game manage for a lesser team and coach. Manning would be a superstar anywhere. I doubt Brady would get as much as Manning on the open market.

The whole "Brady is a saint for taking less money" was a nice PR move.

I feel for you buddy, I really do... its gotta be frustrating to be a fan of a team like the Colts who have a "superstar" regular season QB, RB, WR corps that should have given you guys 5 SB rings thus far, and to have watched your team choke in a half dozen different ways.

I mean, on paper - and on the salary cap - the Colts had it all. Pro Bowl QB, Pro Bowl RB, a few Pro Bowl WRs - even some guys on Defense we'd love to see on our own team.

It's gotta be driving you nuts - and apparently it did!

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Peyton Manning is a superstar. Take Brady from the Patriots and he wouldn't enjoy the same success elsewhere trying to game manage for a lesser team and coach. Manning would be a superstar anywhere. I doubt Brady would get as much as Manning on the open market.

The whole "Brady is a saint for taking less money" was a nice PR move.

Hey looser troll - Manning is the paper tiger of superstars. Kinda like that overpaid jinx Payrod on your other favorite team.

Brady game managed for a lesser team in 2001 than any team Manning has led since the day Polian drafted Edge. And Belichick's genius, the same one that struggled in Cleveland and in NE in 2000, was just a twinkle in Bob Kraft's eye before a kid drafted in the 6th round did something with the same supporting cast another highly touted presumed to be HOF #1 draft pick superstar QB could do nothing with even under a genius coach.

Brady elevates everyone around him, his teamates play harder for him and his coaches game plan with panache. He deflects praise and attention back onto his teamates and shoulders the blame without a hint of finger pointing when anyone falters. In Indy everyone looks to Peyton to lead them, including his coaches, and invariably he makes a face or flings his mitts in disgust when they once again let him down. His contract and his immense statistical talent hang around his teamates necks like an albatross. They are the perenial pre season favorites thanks to Peymeaton, and every time the chips are down he folds in on his teamates like a cheap suit. They can't carry him either because he and his select weapons cost so much they can't afford to fill out the roster with guys who might so some heavy lifting in a pinch.

Any GM in football who wouldn't be smart enough to take the guy who gives you way more bang for your buck over an overhyped paper tiger who sucks up resources like a Hoover and has to be coddled and provided with every available weapon - and still he chokes - doesn't deserve to have the job.

 

[Remix 6]

i believe Brady is the type of guy who will restructure if he needs to help get teammates resigned or FA signed. Hes a team guy

 

[DaBruinz]

So much for the "Brady took less money to play here" fallacy that some Patriots fans believe. I don't mind Brady getting paid because I think he's the best player in the NFL but I hate it when I hear Patriots fans say he took less money to stay in New England. That simply isn't true.

How is it a Fallacy? Brady took a deal, that if he makes all of his incentives, would pay him a total of 60 million over 5 years. That is significantly different than Manning's contract or Michael Vick's contract. Manning got how much in guaranteed money? How much did Michael Vick get in guarantees? I think that Vick got over $35 MILLION in guaranteed money.