Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands alone

Quietly backup quarterbacks are being paid silly money this offseason
--Kevin Kolb signs in Buffalo for reported $13 million/2 years
--Floyd gets traded from Seattle and gets his 6.5 million salary guaranteed and over $13 million in next 2 years with only 2 NFL games under his belt. Admittedly he could start for the Raiders-- but he is still all hat and no cattle.
--Cassel goes to the Vikings for some $8 million/2 years as backup. Maybe the best investment
--Chase Daniels signed for 3.5 million/yr w/ the Chiefs

By contrast, "elite" QBs are now all in the 20 million bracket
--Brees followed Payton Manning in the 20 million category
--Upped by Flacco
--Soon to be upped by Rodgers in Green Bay who might start a 25 million category
--Even "non-elite" Romo at 34 years is at 18+ million for 6 years
--Rothlisberger will soon join this group as will Eli Manning when he extends his deal

And then, you have a Tom Brady who proves that he is indeed in a league of his own. I truly believe that Brady's contract with the Pats is 1 of a kind. From 2015 to 2017, he is under contract for 9 million/yr or for a total of $57 million for 5 years from 2013 to 2017. His total contract is about the same as the guarantees Romo and Flacco received for 3 years.

This is a contract that Brady can easily walk away from if he so chose. If he wins another Superbowl, I would not be surprised if Kraft was forced (by just how underpaid Brady would be or by a Brady holdout) to up the ante and redo the contract. OTOH, Brady might just decide it is easy to ride into the sunset after winning his next Superbowl.

To understand how unique Brady is in agreeing to his new contract, here is Pioli today on radio: Pioli talks Brady, Pats on Sirius - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston
“By the time this cycle of contracts is done – Tom Brady just did a new deal, and I don’t even know is going to be in the top seven or eight highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Stop and think about that – all of these guys getting done in and around him, [Tony] Romo just got done, [Aaron] Rodgers is going to get done, [Joe] Flacco – and I’m not even sure if Tommy is in the top seven or eight.”

The Pats are lucky. Brady, the winningest QB of his generation, will never join the 20 million/yr club. Heck, even a gunslinger called Favre, got paid $15 to $20 million during his late thirties. But Brady makes it possible for the Pats to have a strong middle-class. Here's hoping BB strikes gold in the FAs he recruits.

One final point. Given the prices for backups, all those who think the Pats should trade Mallett are barking up the wrong tree. The Pats have a talented strong arm QB as backup for cheap. That is REAL VALUE. Short of high draft pick or two, I would be very comfortable to keep Mallett on. For all we know, Tommy wins the Superbowl in 2014 and rides off into the sunset instead of laboring for a "mere" $9 million/yr. Anyone at 1 Patriots Place, thinking ahead?

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

PatsFanStnfrd said:

This is a contract that Brady can easily walk away from if he so chose. If he wins another Superbowl, I would not be surprised if Kraft was forced (by just how underpaid Brady would be or by a Brady holdout) to up the ante and redo the contract. OTOH, Brady might just decide it is easy to ride into the sunset after winning his next Superbowl.

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(A) I have a hard time seeing Brady hold out.

(B) I can't see Kraft "needing" to re-do Brady's contract unless Brady wins at least two more rings.

(C) Brady's said there's nothing else he'd rather be doing right now than playing football. I don't see him "riding off into the sunset" as long as he thinks he can keep playing at what he considers an elite level.

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

ctpatsfan77 said:

(A) I have a hard time seeing Brady hold out.

(B) I can't see Kraft "needing" to re-do Brady's contract unless Brady wins at least two more rings.

(C) Brady's said there's nothing else he'd rather be doing right now than playing football. I don't see him "riding off into the sunset" as long as he thinks he can keep playing at what he considers an elite level.

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A) couldnt agree more
B) Why would he want to no way he could get a better deal again (but if in 3 years Tom wants to re-up again Kraft will listen)
C)I really think that what Brady says about when he will retire and about playing into his 40s that its more his way of defering the question. I dont think that means he has term in mind now and I dont think that means he wont go until 40. Just that as a mid thirties player its an easy way to ignore the question.

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

These "backup" QB's who are being paid silly money are going to be the frontrunners for their QB spots on their respective teams. Looking at it that way, 6 million dollars is hard to justify as a good/bad deal for a starting QB's salary in the NFL--even if you suck. That is probably a realistic number anymore for a guy who knows he's in line for a starting job, just due to the inflation of the QB numbers alone.

If he were a clear cut backup in the like of Chase Daniel, the McCown brothers, other journeyman vets etc, he wouldn't be making nearly that kind of money. I think you need to fairly seperate the two categories. It'd be hard to accept an offer of 2-3 million AAV if you're an agent knowing that your client will be viewed as having a 75% chance or better of starting this season. That isn't "backup" money anymore, it's low-tiered starter money, which is probably what Flynn and Kolb deserve according to the NFL's salary structure for QB's. Their talent level is irrelevant to this discussion, as the GM's of the National Football League have already decided that, not us.

As far as the Romo situation goes, he really doesn't have to be "elite" as you say to justify a 17 million dollar AAV contract. The fact that he's won 6/10 of all of his games, has an incredible 95.6 QB rating in his seven year career, and a 65% completion rate automatically puts him in that 2nd/3rd tier of NFL QB's; as does the fact that he keeps his team alive for playoff competition in 6/7 seasons in the final week #17 or better.

Either way you see it, whether it's 2nd tier (E.Manning, Roethlisberger, Flacco) or 3rd tier (Romo, Ryan) he certainly belongs in the top 10 QB's in the league, and according to the inflation of starting QB's anymore that number falls in line with the AAV of anywhere from 16-24 (possibly Rodgers) per year. I do believe that we'll see a majority in that 17-20 million range however, especially with the new deals coming up for Stafford, Ryan, etc.

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

signbabybrady said:

C)I really think that what Brady says about when he will retire and about playing into his 40s that its more his way of deferring the question. I don't think that means he has term in mind now and I don't think that means he wont go until 40. Just that as a mid thirties player its an easy way to ignore the question.

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This. I maintain that TFB knows what a huge distraction the "Tom Brady Farewell Tour" will be. In my mind, he'll walk into BB's office, tell him he's done, and they'll concoct an exit strategy that will be the least distracting for the club.

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

I think brady is ok with his financial situation........his wife helps that a bit, but somehow, I think his money is making him more money somewhere.....

it is really something he no longer needs to think about.

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

him and he's wife bring in almost 100 million per year... I think he can feed he's children lol

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

I don't see why there needs to be a catch. Brady gave the Pats a good deal. Why can't that just be the end of it?

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

Brady falls into the camp of a few other great boston athletes who wanted to get paid well, but were more interested in staying with the team and thus lost maybe 5-20% over what they could've had -- On the Patriots, Bruschi comes to mind.
On the Bruins, Bourque and Neely were like that.

It's kind of rare for an elite athlete to not demand elite money or fear of going elsewhere.

That said, I think this contract brings things to a whole new level -- but I'm not so sure if Brady would've signed it if his wife was a stay-at-home-mom and not a 'make a hell of a lot more money than he does' mom

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

Brady really does not need the money. He has earned plenty, he has extensive 3rd party endorsement deals. He has a wife who earns more than he does and will have plenty of opportunities after his playing days are over.

This contract gives him tonnes of freewill from the patriots to end his career whenever he wants. He will never be cut because he is an overpaid, under-performing veteran.

All he has ever wanted to do is win. This gives him the best chance to win, by giving the pats a roster with a more talented "middle class" as someone put the other day. Better backups, deeper roster. Great schemes and exploiting our match ups.

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

Floyd?????????????

You mean Matt Flynn?

Re: Top Quarterbacks now in $20million bracket; Backups in $5 million+;Brady stands a

Trying to speculate on why Tom Brady did what he did or why he might or might not do something in the future is a colossal waste of time. The only person who really knows what's motivating Tom Brady is Tom Brady. His wife and close family probably also know, plus maybe a handful of trusted friends. Beyond that, we're all pretty much blowing it out our butts here.

Did he want to give the team some room to maneuver under the Cap? Probably.

When he signed his most recent contract, did he understand that Robert Kraft is sort of the "Anti-Dan-Snyder" and that it's not his style to sign any one player to chase a Championship in any one season (think Wes Welker)? Hopefully.

Did he want a contract from which he could walk away without too much agonizing? Maybe.

If he decided to walk away, would the Pats be able to persuade him with more money? Maybe.

Did he want a contract that would never risk his being regarded as someone who was burdening the team as an overpaid veteran? Maybe.

Did Gisele's income and earnings potential play a role in his decision? Maybe.

Does he mean it when he says he wants to play as long as he can still do so at an elite level and isn't just telling us fans what we want to hear? Probably, but, let's be honest here, we really can't know for sure.

Is it best for us just to enjoy having Number 12 in Foxboro for as long as the Brady Era lasts and not drive ourselves nuts over-thinking it? Absolutely, yes. In fact, that's the only thing I feel that I know for sure in this regard.