Give Brady Whatever He Wants

[Tunescribe]

ownership.
What if Kraft can offer Brady 5% ownership in the franchise? That would be with more than whatever cap busting salary the Pats could come up with. That would be like Brady asking for a pony but Kraft gives him a unicorn instead.

Can't happen, not allowed under the CBA.

 

[PittPatriot]

Can't happen, not allowed under the CBA.

even after he retires?

 

[Tunescribe]

even after he retires?

I'd think an under-the-table deal like that could get Kraft in a ton of trouble since owners are part of the CBA.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I pretty much agree with this theoretically but I can 100% understand the other viewpoint. Or I should say I agree with this unless there is the clear opportunity to land another Jimmy G level successor.

The problem is I don’t think the Patriots are actually able to give him what he truly wants, which is the chance to really compete for more championships and have a good/great offense supporting him. If they gave him that, there could be some absolute crater sized holes elsewhere on the roster. Gilmore for a Jones/Hopkins player is really the only way I could see the type of titanic shift that needed because I think Tom only comes back with proven star talent, not more disappointments.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I pretty much agree with this theoretically but I can 100% understand the other viewpoint. Or I should say I agree with this unless there is the clear opportunity to land another Jimmy G level successor.

The problem is I don’t think the Patriots are actually able to give him what he truly wants, which is the chance to really compete for more championships and have a good/great offense supporting him. If they gave him that, there could be some absolute crater sized holes elsewhere on the roster. Gilmore for a Jones/Hopkins player is really the only way I could see the type of titanic shift that needed because I think Tom only comes back with proven star talent, not more disappointments.

The thing is, it's not like the Pats intentionally blew up the team in an effort to build for the future (compared to, say, what Mark Cuban did after the Mavs one, squandering about a third of Dirk Nowitzki's career). It was just a lot of bad luck concentrated on one side of the ball. About the only things I can truly fault them for was not pushing GRONK to make a decision before FA started and not doing anything of note to replace him.

 

[Tunescribe]

I pretty much agree with this theoretically but I can 100% understand the other viewpoint. Or I should say I agree with this unless there is the clear opportunity to land another Jimmy G level successor.

The problem is I don’t think the Patriots are actually able to give him what he truly wants, which is the chance to really compete for more championships and have a good/great offense supporting him. If they gave him that, there could be some absolute crater sized holes elsewhere on the roster. Gilmore for a Jones/Hopkins player is really the only way I could see the type of titanic shift that needed because I think Tom only comes back with proven star talent, not more disappointments.

And even then, can you really see him taking the same salary or even less? He'll want to feel "respected" financially as well, commensurate with his peers. I think the ship has sailed -- 2019 was the last shot for him and the Patriots tried pretty hard to make it happen. If not for some really bad luck (injuries at OL, FB, WR) and AB's idiocy, it might've worked out.

 

[IndianPat]

When asked about Brady's next year plans, Brady's dad said "it depends on Bill Belichick". There in lies the reality. Nobody knows what the organization is thinking.

 

[Tunescribe]

The thing is, it's not like the Pats intentionally blew up the team in an effort to build for the future (compared to, say, what Mark Cuban did after the Mavs one, squandering about a third of Dirk Nowitzki's career). It was just a lot of bad luck concentrated on one side of the ball. About the only things I can truly fault them for was not pushing GRONK to make a decision before FA started and not doing anything of note to replace him.

Managing the TE position was abysmal, although they had other efforts fall through there as well (Seferian-Jenkins, etc.). I wish they 'd worked during the 2018 season on extending Trent Brown, he really could have helped.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Methinks the OP is not good at math.

 

[ALP]

Agreed, we know Brady won’t be selfish and ask for so much it will hurt the team

stick with Brady until he sucks, and right now he doesn’t suck, he’s still top 10 in nfl (based on actual play this past year, prob top 3/5 when supporting cast also good)

unless we have a young guy waiting in the wing with just one year left on his deal and we need to see how good he is, Brady should continue having the helm

 

[captain insano]

When asked about Brady's next year plans, Brady's dad said "it depends on Bill Belichick". There in lies the reality. Nobody knows what the organization is thinking.

I think the team not extending Brady last summer. Gives you an idea of what they are thinking. And Brady should have played hardball about his contract ten years ago. Instead of waiting till he's 42 years old.

 

[captain insano]

I pretty much agree with this theoretically but I can 100% understand the other viewpoint. Or I should say I agree with this unless there is the clear opportunity to land another Jimmy G level successor.

The problem is I don’t think the Patriots are actually able to give him what he truly wants, which is the chance to really compete for more championships and have a good/great offense supporting him. If they gave him that, there could be some absolute crater sized holes elsewhere on the roster. Gilmore for a Jones/Hopkins player is really the only way I could see the type of titanic shift that needed because I think Tom only comes back with proven star talent, not more disappointments.

They just went to three SBs in a row. Then went 12 and 4. What more can a player ask for?

 

[venecol]

There are 6 QBs in the playoffs that earned $25M+ this year. Four of them are playing in the Divisional round. Don't see those teams being neutered by a large QB contract.

It is nonsense to believe that a deal can't be struck with Brady for over $25M and still put together a competitive team. The time is now to capture 1 or 2 more SBs. 49ers are one away from also having 6 and could potentially win a couple with Jimmy in the future.

Release the real dead weight (Sanu, etc.), restructure a few contracts (Hi, Cannon, Gili), find a couple of good FA WR/TE, have a good draft, let expensive FAs walk, etc. Make it happen.

CBA expires in 2021 and nobody knows what can happen. Maybe the cap grows enough to absorb Brady's contract. Maybe the players strike. The time is NOW. Stop messing around, bring Brady back and go get another ring in 2020.

 

[supafly]

They certainly can’t give him “whatever he wants,” but they can give him a fair and reasonable 25m on a one year pact, which is coincidentally the same number that Curran uses in his hypothetical scenario for his latest article. For those who haven’t read it, that would make Brady’s cap hit about 31.75m, which would amount to about 15-16% of the upcoming cap.

In the past, Kraft has talked about his 12-15 percent rule for franchise-type players, so this would be on the higher end of that range, but it would still seem to be reasonable enough to keep the GOAT for one more year.

The big question is how much another team would offer and how many teams might offer a multi-year deal. I don’t see the Patriots offering more than a one year deal, but that’s just my opinion.

 

[supafly]

They just went to three SBs in a row. Then went 12 and 4. What more can a player ask for?

Yeah, in Curran’s piece, he suggests that the team has somehow failed Tom since the 2013 extension, meaning that they didn’t surround him with enough weapons. I respectfully disagree. I think they lived up to their end of the deal, brought in some high profile free agents like Revis and Gilmore, and spent to the cap in every season.

It would seem that as long as the team doesn’t expect him to take something ridiculously low, another year in 2020 would be the best option for both sides. Brady would get another good shot at playing with a very competitive team at a reasonable enough salary (especially for an unprecedented 43 year old QB), and the team would have their leader continue to play in the offense that they designed specifically for him to excel in.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

And even then, can you really see him taking the same salary or even less? He'll want to feel "respected" financially as well, commensurate with his peers. I think the ship has sailed -- 2019 was the last shot for him and the Patriots tried pretty hard to make it happen. If not for some really bad luck (injuries at OL, FB, WR) and AB's idiocy, it might've worked out.

I think when it comes to the financials, some of this seems like speculation. I do think that the Patriots “not believing in him” to play until 45+ is what really hurts Tom the deepest because he never expected his own organization would doubt him (not did the organization expect this dude to still be walking without crutches). And I think those negotiations were not good last fall, to the point where Brady surely brought up that the “goodwill” between the two sides will not be reciprocated if he’s left on a year to year deal.

I do think he is paid close to his peers right now. He takes less but it isn’t like he’s playing for peanuts. His contracts have huge sign-on bonuses and then are often reworked on the backend, so I think Brady has been unselfish and certainly has not leveraged like almost any other QB but the degree of savings is somewhat exaggerated.

I agree 2019 may have been the last realistic shot. I took his Instagram post to mean he wants to compete. He wants to prove he can keep playing at a high level. He loves the game. For the first time he made it seem that his love of the game is as important as his maniacal desire to win. Having more to prove doesn’t necessarily entail just winning. I really think it has to do with his Alex Guerrero-ism more than anything.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

They certainly can’t give him “whatever he wants,” but they can give him a fair and reasonable 25m on a one year pact, which is coincidentally the same number that Curran uses in his hypothetical scenario for his latest article. For those who haven’t read it, that would make Brady’s cap hit about 31.75m, which would amount to about 15-16% of the upcoming cap.

In the past, Kraft has talked about his 12-15 percent rule for franchise-type players, so this would be on the higher end of that range, but it would still seem to be reasonable enough to keep the GOAT for one more year.

The big question is how much another team would offer and how many teams might offer a multi-year deal. I don’t see the Patriots offering more than a one year deal, but that’s just my opinion.

The problem is if they pay him well they wont be able to surround him with the top flight weapons he needs, that's the current conundrum.

 

[supafly]

The problem is if they pay him well they wont be able to surround him with the top flight weapons he needs, that's the current conundrum.

I realize the issue at hand, which is why I’ve always felt that 25m on a one-year deal was fair to both sides. It (31m total cap hit) remains in the 12-15 percent category that Kraft has spoken of in years past, and it gives Brady a similar salary to what he’s been making.

That would leave the team around 20m in cap room prior to making moves such as Sanu and JMac (potentially another 10m dollars). This seems to be in line with most other years regarding what they can do in free agency. They also have 12 draft picks.

 

[venecol]

The problem is if they pay him well they wont be able to surround him with the top flight weapons he needs, that's the current conundrum.

I don't understand this. Somebody must not be doing their job:

 

[venecol]

I wonder how Brady would've done in the playoffs with Diggs and Thielen. No way they could've afforded them with Brady making $23M. Lucky for them Cousins was only averaging $28M.