Father's Day book suggestions, plus Brett Favre, Tom Brady, more - Peter King - SI.com
The thesis seems to be that the Donovan McNabbs of the world are making much more than him this year, so he and his agent are "taking notes." They're doing it quietly, of course, and saying all the right things... maybe because of the signing bonus early in the deal? I dunno, but Brady only gets 5M salary this year, so they're "taking notes."
With all the money Brady is making from the Patriots, he gets about $10 million a year; he signed a six-year deal worth almost $60 million. You have to understand that not all the money a player gets is NOT in his salary, such as bonuses. Don't forget about all that playoff and Super Bowl money, either, with all the props that go along with it.
Over the first three years of (Brady's) contract, a measuring stick that is often used now by many agents and teams to gauge comparative value, the deal averages $13.111 million.
Brady now among the NFL's highest-paid players - NFL - ESPN
The really irritating thing is that Matthew Stafford just signed a contract with the Lions that is bigger than Tom Brady's. He signed a six-year $72 million (at least) contract with $41.7 million guaranteed. Somebody needs to put a lid on these outrageous high-pick rookie contracts. Picking #1 overall is a curse...Stafford could end up sucking the big one. With all that guaranteed money, the Lions are tethered to Stafford for at least four years. If he sucks, they'll cut him after four years and get nothing for him...nobody is going to pick up that monster contract.
The point is that I'll bet my right nut that Stafford won't be nearly as good as Brady, not even close...especially on such a God-awful team. Yet he is making more money than Tom Brady before even taking one NFL snap.
But Brady ain't hurting for money, and I doubt he is upset about what anyone else is getting. Brady is filthy, stinking rich from what he gets from football alone, but I'm sure he is making millions more in other avenues. I don't see the Patriots offering up more money. What's he going to do, demand a raise or to be traded? I don't think so. The success that he sees, with the endorsements that go along with that, would likely go down considerably on a different team. I just don't see Brady making waves, epecially after being out an entire season with an injury that will require him to wear a knee brace for who knows how long.
As far as an uncapped year goes, what some people don't seem to understand is that, while there is no ceiling on what money players can get, there is no floor either. It'll be crazy, and it won't work for long before the system breaks down IMO. There'd be a strike or a holdout.