Report: Tom Brady Restructures Contract, Gives Pats Extra Cash To Spend In Offseason
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady is ever the team player.
With his team entering a bye week, awaiting to learn their opponent for a divisional round matchup at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 10, Brady restructured his contract.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the transaction on Monday afternoon.
"In a deal turned into NFL today, Tom Brady restructured his contract to give NE $24 million more in cash to spend this winter, per sources," Schefter reported via Facebook.
The restructuring doesn't free up $24 million in cap space. Instead, Brady changed the language of his contract so that it guarantees him money only if he is injured. Now the Patriots, if they for some reason wanted to, could cut Brady without owing him money.
"Brady also now can be released from the Patriots without any liability, but he then would become an unrestricted free agent, free to command the type of guaranteed money he has agreed to surrender," Schefter wrote.
Brady, 37, has stated many times in many interviews that he intends to play football for years to come. He completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 4,109 yards, 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.
Given his success this season, Brady's decision to change the guaranteed money doesn't represent too great of a risk. If the Patriots were to release him, he'd still be able to make plenty of money as a free agent. Still, the restructure is something the quarterback did not have to do.
Brady previously restructured his contract in February 2013, a move that set to pay him that $24 million over three years from 2015-17.
As Schefter noted, "This frees up cash for the Patriots to use on other players. New England needs the cash to help re-sign some of its own free agents such as Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Nate Solder and Shane Vereen, amongst others."
98.5 The Sports Hub's Joe Murray, filling in for Adam Jones, discussed what the contract restructuring means for Tom Brady and the Patriots.
Listen below:
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