Safe? This is lunacy, but it's worth getting into because we have many who clearly don't understand "safe", "risk" and other terms. Brady could have been extended last year, and each year thereafter, whereby his contract runs through the end of the following season. In that case, there's a decent chance that the team and Brady align with his retirement and when they're ready to move on. And if not, the team would have, at worst, perhaps a $25M cap hit where they'd just have to eat it. That is small potatoes in the big picture; some teams have a huge dead hit exceeding amount for non-QBs; the difference is that the reward for non-QBs isn't close to the reward for a QB, and especially a guy like Brady.
It's not like Brady is demanding a $134M extension, which is what Rodgers got last offseason and has kneecapped the team because he's no longer elite. Brady just wanted an extra year for security...people are making such a ridiculously big deal like he's "demanding," and to the contrary, this free agency is likely to show just how much he could command on the open market and how very accommodating he was being with the team last August.
Where is the "risk" of flaming garbage at QB for the next two-three seasons while Brady finishes his career in another city, while other fanbases root for the GOAT in his final seasons? I sure don't see any alternatives at QB right now, and it's laughable if the Patriots would pay $15M+ for some shlub like Dalton or Mariota but couldn't give Brady another $25-30M. The risk:reward here is absurdly against the Patriots...and that's not even factoring the shame of the team and the fan experience of watching a 20-year all-time legend in another uniform. Considering what Brady can bring to the team, not extending him was in fact the most "unsafe" thing they could have done.
